


Supermanny

by rainbow_nerds, ransomdrysdale, velvetjinx



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Becca Barnes is a Gift, Big Brother Bucky Barnes, Dad Steve Rogers, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Minor Jane Foster/Thor, Minor Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli, Nanny Bucky Barnes, POV Alternating, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Podfic, Podfic & Podficced Works, Podfic Available, Podfic Length: 7-10 Hours, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:01:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 68,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27307417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbow_nerds/pseuds/rainbow_nerds, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ransomdrysdale/pseuds/ransomdrysdale, https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvetjinx/pseuds/velvetjinx
Summary: Steve pulled out his phone, letting himself engage in his favourite hobby: shame-googling his problems. He had developed something of an addiction to so-called “mommy blogs” over the past couple of months. Every time he went down this rabbit-hole, he felt worse and worse about himself. The blogs were mostly cloying descriptions of perfect families, with just enough judgement of any differing choices and ‘non-traditional families’ to ensure that Steve always felt worse about himself at the end of a session than he had at the start. And yet, he couldn’t help himself.He scrolled through the results until he stumbled upon a blog page from a self-proclaimed “SuperManny”.Steve Rogers was a single dad, perpetually tired and ready to break out of the rut he was living in.Bucky Barnes was a successful small-business owner, living alone with his cat and ignoring the empty space in his life.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 514
Kudos: 424
Collections: Not Another Stucky Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rainbow_Nerds: I can't believe this is it! I've been working on this story since March, and it has been my child for the duration of this lockdown. I'm so excited to finally share it with the world! I want to give a huge thank you to my wonderful beta [Charlesdk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlesdk/pseuds/charlesdk), who found and fixed all of my strange grammar choices and reassured me every time I started overthinking whether this story was good.  
> Jen and Jinx, I'm so glad both of you claimed this story, you've been the BEST cheer-readers and seeing your reactions to each chapter as I finished writing gave me LIFE.  
> I also want to thank the NASBB mods, and everyone in the NASBB discord server for their support and friendship over the last couple of months, I honestly don't know what I'd be doing right now if it wasn't for all of you.  
> I hope everyone enjoys this fic, the accompanying podfic (seriously, it's EXCELLENT, the things Jen did with the audio are amazing!), and Jinx's art, which brought me SUCH joy.
> 
> ransomdrysdale: From the moment the author slides were shared, I knew without hesitation that I wanted this story and truly couldn't believe my fortune when I got to have it. I have to thank [crinklefries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crinklefries/pseuds/crinklefries) who is directly responsible for making me sign up as a NASBB artist in the first place. I didn't think I had anything to offer beyond cheerleading (which I'm real good at!!!) but the nudge she gave me was the wee confidence boost I needed. Thank you, Sorcha, for writing a beautiful, funny, heartfelt story, and allowing me the freedom to give it its (literal) voice. As my first official podfic, I couldn't be prouder. Thank you, Jinx, for being an amazing and inspiring co-artist! Our GC was and is a massive lovefest and I think it shows in everything we do.
> 
> velvetjinx: oh my gosh, working with Sorcha and Jen was a literal dream, because it was amazing. This fic is AMAZING. Sorcha, your writing is genuinely goals. Jen, getting to know you has been wonderful and hearing you give the fic a voice was and is a genuine pleasure. I couldn’t have been luckier than to be allowed to provide a little bit of art for this joyous fic. ❤️
> 
> [ **Listen to the entire Supermanny series here.**](https://www.spreaker.com/show/supermanny) Links to each chapter's corresponding podfic recording will be at the end of every chapter.

It was one of those mornings, thought Steve, as he attempted to braid hair while also making sure that everyone was fed, placating a grumpy toddler and negotiating with a five year old who insisted that he shouldn't have to brush his teeth. Of course, lately, every morning was one of those mornings.

“Ouch, dad! Stop pulling!”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he half mumbled as he tied off the end of his oldest daughter’s hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “There you go, all ready. Go get your school bag and finish your toast.” She pranced off before he had even finished speaking and he sighed, turning his attention to his son.

“Teddy. Teeth. Now.” It was the wrong move, as he saw the child’s face screwing up tight. Steve closed his eyes wearily as the crocodile tears started. He swooped down and picked up Rosie, plopping her into her chair before she could chase Charlie up the stairs, then he crouched down in front of Teddy.

“Come on Teddy, you have to brush your teeth. Otherwise they’ll all fall out and you won't be able to eat chocolate anymore!” Steve floundered wildly for something, anything, that would stop the crisis which was quickly developing as Rosie began to whine with her older brother. As if on cue, Charlie came back carrying her bag, wearing a stubborn expression that reminded him so much of himself that he found himself wondering why he ever thought parenting a child with half his DNA was a good idea.

“Daddy! We’re going to be late for school and I have a project to do today. Miss Martin said we need to start bright and early, soon as the bell rings, or we won’t get it done!” She stomped to the door and he could hear impatient huffs over the exaggerated cries from Teddy and Rosie.

Eventually, he managed to drag Teddy into the bathroom, get his teeth brushed (albeit not very effectively) and herded everyone into the car within ten minutes. They arrived at the school just as the bell rang, and Charlie bolted out of the car without so much as a “Goodbye, dad!”

Teddy was another problem. Steve had to hold his hand all the way to the door to make sure he didn’t bolt (again). The teacher met his eyes outside the classroom and he could feel the words projected at him, judging him. 

“You need to stop bringing him all the way in.” 

“He needs to get used to it.” 

“You’ll only harm him in the long run by coddling him.”

Steve dragged his feet as he made his way back to the car, buckling Rosie back into her car seat and then getting in himself. He allowed himself 30 seconds of sitting still before he was brought back to reality by Rosie’s demands from the back.

“Daddy! Leggo! Leggo! Wanna hear Elsa, daddy!”

Steve pressed play on his car stereo system and drove home, trying to remember when the last time it had blasted anything other than the Frozen or Moana soundtrack. The drive was quick, thankfully, and he pulled into the driveway within a few minutes. As he turned off the engine, he braced for the unhappy shriek that always accompanied the music shutting off.

He winced at the mess in the kitchen and put Rosie down amongst her toys to begin tidying up, but immediately had to pick her back up when he caught a whiff of her diaper, bringing her to the changing area and changing her with practised movements.

Finally, he managed to eat some breakfast himself — mostly the abandoned crusts of toast, sticky with nutella and slightly soggy.

By the time he had gotten the kitchen back into working order (thanking God, and also Tony, for the dishwasher that meant he didn’t have to clean everything by hand), Rosie was sniffling from the floor and he had to get her ready for her nap. Of course, she cried when he tried to put her down and no amount of wheedling would get her to stop. He caved and gave her her binky, stumbling into his studio with the baby monitor for what would hopefully be a good hour or so of work. He had been stuck on a new cover piece for an up-and-coming children’s author and it was due in less than a week.

He was just beginning to develop a flow, when he heard a whimper over the monitor, which quickly developed into a full-on cry. He sighed, looking at the unfinished painting. He would have to leave it for now and hope he could find the time to get back to it later. 

He carried a quietly sobbing Rosie back to the kitchen, getting her lunch of apple slices and peanut butter. He watched as she smeared the majority of it over her clothes and the table, before giving in and feeding her himself. He had to bathe her after she ate, putting her in another fresh set of clothes and realising with a sigh that he would definitely need to do an extra load of laundry this week.

~*~*~

“So there you have it, guys! Those are my top tips for soothing a teething baby. As always, share in the comment box below if you have any ideas that worked for you that I forgot to mention, and don’t forget to subscribe for more parenting tips from your favourite SuperManny. Just remember: Parenting is tough, and you’re doing great.”

Bucky added the final touches to his latest video, pressing save on his editing software and beginning the process of uploading it to youtube. He stood up from his desk and stretched his legs, checking the time. Still early enough; he would have time to eat and start on his laundry before he had to head out to his appointment.

He made his way into the kitchen to get some lunch while he waited for the video to import. His phone rang as he was sitting down with some leftover Chinese food. His cat, Alpine, jumped up onto his lap as he answered the phone, and he petted her absently, feeling her purr as he spoke.

“Hey Becs, what’s up?”

Ever since Becca had left for college she had developed an odd schedule, but she never failed to call him at least once a week to update him on her life. The apartment was quiet without her, but Bucky found ways to keep himself occupied, and he was glad for Alpine’s company in his sister’s absence.

“Well, nothing much, just had a break between classes and thought I’d check in on my favourite brother. Got a gig this week?”

“Aren’t you sweet? Last I checked, I’m your only brother,” Bucky commented dryly, knowing she was only teasing. “Yeah, nothing too complicated. Family of four, the older kid is acting up since they brought home the new baby, blah blah blah.”

“Sounds familiar.” Bucky couldn’t help but snort at her dry tone.

“Yeah, yeah, alright. If only mom and dad could have hired someone to stop me acting like a jerk for eight years, right?” Becca laughed again, but this time it had an edge.

They had gotten better at talking about their parents over the years, but it still hurt to remember exactly what had forced Bucky to finally embrace having a sibling. He wished his parents could see them now, talking and laughing together, her off at college and him with a successful small business.

The silence spanned for a few moments as they both found themselves contemplating the past. Becca broke the silence with a soft tone.

“You’re good at what you do. You’ll sort them out. After all, I turned out alright, didn’t I?

Bucky had to agree. He was constantly amazed by how well adjusted she was, but it had been a near thing. He had been 20 when their parents had died, the same age she was now, and the differences between them both at that age was staggering. Looking back, Bucky wasn’t sure how he had convinced the social workers to let him have full custody of her. Money hadn’t been much of an issue thanks to their inheritance, but he had not had any idea how to take care of an eight year old.

He dropped out of his engineering degree to look after her, and they figured it out together. By the time Becca was in high school, Bucky had completed his first online degree in social work, and they had grown practically inseparable. 

Bucky ate as he listened to Becca regale him with stories of her college friends and pretended to be outraged by the parties she was attending. He wasn’t necessarily worried about her because he knew she had a good head on her shoulders, but he still felt the need to protect her to a degree. Which was why, when he noticed the same name pop up in multiple stories, he couldn’t help but inquire. As he spoke, he could feel his voice slip into “protective older brother” mode, and he found himself smiling at the familiarity.

“Who’s this Robert then? Anyone I should be concerned about?” Becca scoffed, and he could practically hear the accompanying eye roll over the phone.

“Of course that’s what you fixate on when I’m telling you a story about Kelly eating twelve pizzas. They were all large!”

“Kelly’s the one who came over last summer right?” Bucky asked, just to clarify.

“Yeah, why?”

“She’s a good kid, but after her visit I had to re-stock everything in the freezer, that story is not surprising.” Becca huffed in response, and Bucky pressed his advantage.

“But Robert? That’s a new name.” He paused, waiting for her to share. He wouldn’t be concerned if she didn't want to, knew she would tell him if there was anything to tell anyway, but he still enjoyed the teasing.

“Ugh, fine! I’ve been seeing him. Ish. It’s nothing serious, Buck, and I would tell you if it were.” 

“As long as you’re being caref-”

“Bucky, if you are going to try giving me the talk again, I am hanging up right now. We both know how well that went last time.” Bucky cringed at the memory and laughed it off. She had been fourteen at the time, and he had sat her down at the kitchen table after extensive internet research. It had been an agonising hour for both of them, and they hadn’t been able to make eye contact for almost a week afterwards. Needless to say, it was not an experience he was eager to repeat.

“All right, all right. I trust you. But if things do get serious with this guy, I’m gonna have to meet him, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, you got it, bro.” Bucky glanced at his watch, realising his plans for laundry would need to be put on hold.

“Listen, Becs, I gotta head out soon, okay? I gotta be at the house in like an hour.”

“No worries, I’ll talk to you again soon, and don’t forget Spring break is coming up next month. I don’t have plans, so I’ll be home for it.”

“Sure thing, text me the exact dates would you?”

“Will do. Bye Bucky Bear!”

“See ya, Becca Bear.”

Bucky smiled softly at his phone. He always loved his chats with Becca. He stood up, apologising profusely to Alpine for making her leave his warm lap, and went back into his office to check that the video had been uploaded. He published it and clicked the icon to share it in a tweet, letting his followers know it was live.

He went into the living room and made sure that Alpine had enough to eat. She looked at him forlornly from the spot on the floor she had retreated to after he stood up, and he crouched down next to her. She turned around haughtily, clearly showing her dissatisfaction with his harsh treatment of her.

“Sorry, girl. You know papa’s gotta work. I’ll be home soon.” He petted her softly and turned to pick up his work bag, double checking it had everything he would need before walking out the front door.

He stuck his bag in the backseat of his car and got in the driver’s seat, pressing play on his work playlist; a pretty seamless blend of his own favourite songs and the ones that he knew from experience would be demanded by the children he worked with. A text came through from Becca just before he pulled out, and he added the dates to his calendar before starting to drive.

He made it to the house about five minutes early and took a moment to collect himself. He pushed back any thoughts of laundry and grocery lists, let any concerns for Becca file themselves away in their usual spot in his mind, and brought forward what he affectionately referred to as “Professional Bucky” — cool, calm and collected, with a veneer of perfection which could never actually be achieved in real life. He smiled, the smile that made people put their trust in him, invite him into their home and allow him to help them.

He grabbed his bag and made his way to the front door, ringing the bell without hesitation.

The faces that greeted him at the front door were strangers, but their expression was more than familiar, as was the wailing coming from an open door at the other end of the hall, and the three year old running around half clothed and pulling at his parents’ pant legs.

“Hi there. Mr. and Mrs. Crawford, I assume? I’m Bucky.” The relief on their faces at his lack of reaction to the chaos around them was clear, and they welcomed him in.

“So, for this afternoon, I just want to observe, if that’s alright? Get an idea of routines and personalities, so I can tailor a plan to your individual needs. I’ll try to stay out of your way for the most part, then tomorrow and Wednesday we can start implementing some strategies so you can get some control back. How does that sound?”

They nodded eagerly and Bucky allowed himself to fade into the background. His assumption had been correct, he figured out within an hour. By the time the children were in bed for the night, Bucky had drafted the basic outline for what could be done to help the oldest child bond with his sibling, and allow each of the parents some peace and quiet occasionally.

He left with a spring in his step after reassuring the parents they were doing nothing wrong, and that he would be able to help them, providing they cooperated.

“Like I always say: Parenting is rough. You can’t be afraid to admit you need a little help from time to time.”

Back in his car, he let the professional veneer drop and hummed along to his playlist as he drove home. By the time he reached his own front door, he was singing along loudly to ABBA and he almost felt disappointed to turn the stereo off as he parked and got out of the car, ready to sleep after a long day.

Chapter One:  


[ **Listen to Supermanny: Chapter One here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/ransomdrysdale/supermanny-chap-1)


	2. Chapter 2

After the disastrous morning, with tantrums and stressful school runs, the rest of Steve’s day proceeded in much the same exhausting manner, with Teddy dragging his feet on his way out of school just as he had on his way in that morning, and Charlie barely acknowledging him as she ate the macaroni and cheese he had given the kids for their after school snack. He sat, watching her do her homework, but she didn’t ask him for help. In fact, she said nothing for a while, only turning to him when she had tidied everything away to ask the question he knew she had been trying to hold back since school finished.

“Can I call mom now?”

Steve checked the clock, doing some quick math before nodding. He handed her the tablet and she opened facetime eagerly, clicking on Peggy’s contact with more enthusiasm than she had shown towards Steve all week. As the dial tone echoed, Teddy’s thundering footsteps were heard coming down the stairs, and Rosie came toddling over from where she had been playing on the floor nearby.

Peggy answered quickly, had probably been waiting for the call. They were calling a little later than usual today, and Steve knew she missed the kids desperately. Things had been fine at first, when she had still been living just across town. They had co-parented efficiently and helped each other out. But then she got this job offer, and it was too good to turn down. Ever since she had moved back to England, they had both been struggling -- Steve, now a lone parent, and Peggy, at such a distance from the children she loved dearly. Still, they did their best.

“Hello darlings!” her cheerful voice came from the slightly tinny speakers, and Steve’s heart clenched at the sweet picture of their children, bundled together around the screen to speak to their mom. He left for the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea, a habit which he had developed from his years with Peggy, and which he hadn’t quite brought himself to quit, and he sat down with a suppressed groan. He liked to stay out of the picture for most of these chats, since Peggy had so little time alone with the kids.

He sketched idly on the corner of an envelope, ideas for the cover he had been working on earlier taking shape as he allowed his mind to wander. His back twinged, and he made himself sit up straight. Before he realised it, Charlie had padded back into the room carrying the iPad and handed it to him. Peggy smiled at him and he felt himself grinning back.

“Hey Pegs, how are you?”

“I’m good. Charlie was just telling me all about her space project. That’s one clever girl we’ve raised.” Steve felt his heart clench but he smiled through it. She had hardly mentioned the content of the project to him. 

“She sure is somethin’.” He knew she was -- for eight years old, she was incredibly intelligent -- testing top of her class in most subjects, and she always seemed to be more tuned in than he expected her to be. He just wished she would actually open up to him. She may have been intelligent beyond her years but she was still a child, and he hated that he couldn’t get through to her. But she never held back with Peggy, and he saw the child open up and thrive when speaking to or visiting her Mom.

Peggy seemed to notice the complex emotions on his face, because her smile softened.

“You are doing such a good job, Steve. You’re a great dad, and I’m sorry I can’t be there to help more.”

“It’s alright, Peg, you’re doing important work.” They had been over this countless times, so the silence that fell was easily predicted. What she said next however was uncharted territory for the two of them.

“So, Steve, tell me. Have you been seeing anyone?” Steve blinked in surprise and almost choked on the sip of tea he had just taken. He and Peggy had separated amicably almost two years ago, and they remained close friends, but this topic of conversation had always been carefully avoided.

“I… Uhh.” He scrambled for an answer. “I don’t really have a lot of time for, um, socialising.” He flushed as Peggy looked at him, still smiling gently. “Why do you ask, I mean have you…?” Her expression changed, and Steve knew the answer before she gave it.

“I have,” she admitted after a short pause. “You’d like her. She’s an American too, seems I have a type. She’s over here acting in a play.”

Steve had been expecting something like this eventually, knew one of them would have to move on sooner or later. In fact, he was a little surprised that it had taken this long for one of them to start dating again. So he congratulated her, told her how happy he was for them and engaged in some awkward small talk, before they wrapped up their call with the usual exchange of information on school progress, doctor’s appointments and the mundanities of parenting.

By the time they hung up, Steve felt completely worn out. He looked into the living room to see what the kids were up to. Rosie had managed to get into the craft supplies and had a face full of glitter, while Charlie and Teddy were sitting on opposite armchairs, Charlie reading a book and Teddy playing on his Nintendo, which had been a Christmas gift from Santa and which Steve had quickly regretted agreeing to.

“Dinner will be ready soon, so I want this room tidied, alright?” He tried to sound as authoritative as possible, but none of them so much as blinked in his direction. He trudged over and pried the now empty tub of glitter from Rosie’s hands.

“Twenty minutes!” He found himself raising his voice, taking the game console out of Teddy’s hands in a move he immediately regretted at the sound of a piercing scream of outrage. He was constantly amazed by the sheer volume which could be generated by the small lungs of a five year old, but he tried his best to ignore the tantrum, simply repeating his order to have the room clean before dinner as he left the room again.

He dumped some pasta into a pot with boiling water, vaguely hearing his twenty-three year old, childless self berating him for not carefully salting the water. Not to mention the unseasoned jar of sauce which he unceremoniously dumped into a pot to heat up along with some leftover chicken. You learned to tolerate bland food when you were raising a fussy eater, and Teddy rarely ate anything he was unfamiliar with.

He carried Rosie upstairs for her second bath and change of clothes of the day, putting her straight back into her seat at the table in her vest when he was done, and taking the (overcooked) pasta off the heat, mixing it into the sauce, and calling the rest of his children for dinner.

When they had sat down and begun wolfing down their food, Steve snuck a glance into the living room. If anything, it had gotten messier since he had last seen it, the glitter spread further and ground into the carpet, and the Nintendo had clearly been switched back on, as it rested where Teddy had sat, a clear path of glitter following the route the boy must have taken to retrieve it.

Once they had eaten, Steve brought Rosie up to bed and tucked her in, letting out a breath of relief when she didn’t immediately start screaming, then he went back downstairs to give the others their “hour to bedtime” warning. They were both in exactly the same position as they had been in before dinner, and Steve simply resigned himself to having to clean up himself once they had gone to bed. 

He told them he would be in his studio, and went into the room feeling more tired than ever, leaving the door open so he could hear any disturbances. He managed to add a few of the ideas he had come up with for the artwork earlier before his phone chirped to tell him it was the kids’ bedtime. He needed the alarm, as by this time of the evening his brain was generally too foggy to keep track of the time. 

He felt he should have had a grasp of this by now, but it was still a struggle every night. Charlie’s seemingly well-researched arguments as to why she should have a later bedtime mingled with Teddy’s incoherent yells to form a cacophony which Steve had stopped trying to decipher, simply hoping they wouldn’t wake up Rosie.

Thankfully, Teddy consented to brushing his teeth with less arguing than this morning, and Charlie acquiesced when promised an extra ten minutes of reading in bed. By the time they were tucked in and lights were turned out, all Steve could do was to make his way back to the living room and start up the vacuum, clearing up the majority of the glitter but accepting that this room would never be truly glitter free again. 

He finally sat down, listening to the silence in the house for the first time since before the children had been woken up that morning, and wondering how he would make it through another day like today. He knew that Sam or Natasha would be more than happy to help him out, they had offered more than enough, but he hated feeling like he was taking time out of their own busy lives. 

He pulled out his phone, letting himself engage in his favourite hobby: shame-googling his problems. He had developed something of an addiction to so-called “mommy blogs” over the past couple of months. Every time he went down this rabbit-hole, he felt worse and worse about himself. The blogs were mostly cloying descriptions of perfect families, with just enough judgement of any differing choices and ‘non-traditional families’ to ensure that Steve always felt worse about himself at the end of a session than he had at the start. And yet, he couldn’t help himself.

He scrolled through the results until he stumbled upon a blog page from a self-proclaimed “SuperManny”. The icon at the top of a page, of a red-and-blue clad superhero figure, wielding a baby bottle and diaper, pulled an unexpected chuckle from his tired chest. He clicked into it with interest. It seemed to be run by a man, Steve noted with interest, which was unusual enough, but the list of actual childcare qualifications made it all the more surprising.

He read the entry, titled “How to show your kids you are interested in their lives”, feeling the tears he had been stubbornly denying welling up behind his eyes. Before he knew it, he was sobbing quietly, barely even following the blog anymore. 

Suddenly, a knock came on the door and, quickly wiping his eyes on a cloth he picked up from the back of a chair, he went and opened the door to see his boss, Tony Stark, on the doorstep.

“Hey Steve-o. What’s happening? How’s the cover going?”

Steve rambled out something he hoped sounded positive, not quite sure why the multi-millionaire CEO was making house calls, but knowing better than to question Tony’s odd habits. They had an odd sort of friendship. When Steve had started working at Stark publishing, he had assumed the majority of his interactions would be with an assistant, or maybe a department head at most. The last thing he had expected was for Tony Stark, CEO of Stark industries, the parent company of the relatively small publishing house, to take a personal interest in his work.

But here they were, four years after he had started work there, and he now counted Tony as among his closest friends. He checked in regularly, usually calling over when he knew the kids would be in bed, but he would occasionally visit for the day on weekends, spoiling the children rotten and leaving Steve to handle the inevitable sugar crash when it came. The visits had been more regular since Peggy had moved, and Steve had to admit he was usually grateful for the company.

After the day he had today, however, he just wanted to sleep.

The visit was quick, thankfully. Tony simply took a look at the work Steve had managed to do, offering a few suggestions and compliments which made little to no sense in Steve’s sleep-and-tears addled brain, before leaving as suddenly as he had arrived. At one point, Steve thought he saw the man pick up his phone and examine it curiously, but he thought nothing of it, his mind already reeling, making lists of all he needed to do tomorrow to make sure the house stayed resembling a human dwelling rather than that of a particularly messy family of dogs.

When Tony had left, Steve didn’t even attempt to get anything else done, simply stripped off his sweatpants and t-shirt. He barely remembered to take his medications before collapsing into bed and falling into a dead sleep.

And then, as though no time had passed, his alarm blared in his ear and it all started again.

Steve was a proud and stubborn man, but even he was forced to admit that he couldn’t go on like this.

~*~*~

Alpine greeted Bucky cheerfully when he got home after his day with the family he was working with, clearly having forgiven him for the earlier slight of daring to go to work when she had wanted cuddles. She rubbed against his legs and almost tripped him up as he changed out of his work clothes and into sweatpants and an old t-shirt. He stayed up a little longer, texting Becca to see how her day had gone and looking through comments on his new video.

People seemed to enjoy it, expressing thanks and inquiring about specific things he had mentioned in the video. There were a few requests for topics to cover, so he opened his spreadsheet and added them in. He typed out a few replies to the comments, and liked a few more. There weren’t too many there, his videos tended to get most of their traffic through searches rather than regular subscribers, but they did alright.

The next few days were busy, driving to the Crawfords’ place bright and early and leaving just after the kids were in bed. They were over the moon by the time he left, and offered him an invite to the older child’s birthday party.

“You should come, I’m sure he would love to see you again.”

“You’re too kind, really. He’s a great kid, but I’m afraid I have another job scheduled around that time so I’ll be too busy. Thank you for the invite, though.” They nodded and smiled in understanding. It was a white lie. He didn’t currently have anything on the books, but he had learned that the rejection tended to be softened if it was felt that he didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“Well, thank you again, Bucky. We thought, after everything had been so easy the first time around, that we should have been the same with number two. If you ever need a recommendation, you know where to find us.” Bucky smiled and waved as he walked back down the driveway, settling in for the drive home.

When he had first started this business, he had struggled saying goodbye to the families he worked with, and would have accepted the invite in a heartbeat. In fact, his business had only started because he had offered to help his new neighbors settle into life in the States with their one year old after he had noticed them struggling. That had been four years ago now, and his business had grown from there. The Odinsons remained some of his closest friends, and little Freya had practically become his niece in all but blood.

It had gotten to be too much before long however, and Bucky had developed his professional persona for his own protection, to make it easier to say goodbye. He couldn’t keep in touch with every family he helped, or he would never be able to develop and grow his business. He couldn’t let himself get attached. So he denied birthday invitations, but accepted recommendations when they were given, and on occasion he would get a card announcing a new addition to the family, or another milestone. The first high school graduation had made him tear up, and that photo was tacked into a scrapbook he kept under his work desk, alongside pictures of Becca and Freya.

He sat at his desk to write up his “case notes” blog post. When he had started taking his job online, he had considered a reality-tv format briefly, but quickly decided he wasn’t comfortable with filming someone’s children for the internet. Instead, he took notes and voice memos over the course of his time with the families, and, providing they consented, he would transcribe his notes and change the names, compiling it all into a blog post detailing their situation and how he had helped them. Occasionally they agreed to use their real names and have a family photo attached at the end, but he never pushed for that if they were reluctant.

The lack of identifying information hadn’t seemed to hurt his blog figures, and his followers, mostly parents themselves, had been more than happy to read his descriptions of the circumstances without feeling they were missing out. On the contrary, the respect he showed for the families had, he suspected, been one of the reasons the business was doing as well as it was. Families trusted him to respect their wishes, and therefore they were more eager to work with him.

It took him the better part of two days to write and edit the post to perfection, sourcing images which would complement his narrative where the family hadn’t wanted to be shown. When he published the blog, he shared it and sat back to watch the hits roll in.

It always surprised him how popular his blog had become. After all, parenting groups and mommy blogs were notoriously vicious to outsiders. He wasn’t a parent, and there were always a few commenters questioning his credentials to be posting advice in this area, blatantly ignoring the blog header which clearly outlined his undergraduate degree in social work, and his postgraduates in early childhood care, education and child psychology. 

More than that, there was a loud group of people who attacked him for simply being a man who dared to give parenting advice, as though fathers, or in his case simply legal guardians, had no place in making decisions for their children.

It had affected him at first, but just like his direct work with families, he had built up a protective barrier between himself and his online presence. He wasn’t a parent blogger or a vlogger; all of his posts were from a professional viewpoint with very little personal input. While he allowed himself more freedom on his twitter and instagram, sharing anecdotes and stories carefully chosen from his daily life, there was more to him than what was found online. It was a delicate balance, and Bucky had often found himself teetering on the edge when he had been starting out.

He checked his calendar for the upcoming month. He was basically free, other than a few videos he needed to film and schedule, until after Becca was home for spring break. It hadn’t been deliberate, but he didn’t mind the lull. His videos and blog posts got a pretty steady stream of clicks from search engines, and he had plenty of ideas for new general videos, from Q&As to specific advice columns. 

He probably wouldn’t turn down another family visit, purely because he loved it. He enjoyed getting a glimpse into people’s lives, expanding his knowledge and skills, and the feeling of helping them was unparalleled. But, he was in a good place, and not filling the empty space on his calendar wouldn’t set him back. 

In fact, he was almost looking forward to a chance to relax, just him and Alpine.

He relaxed on his sofa, putting on a true crime series on Netflix and crossing his feet. Before long, Alpine had claimed her position in his lap and he reclined further, almost dozing off as he watched, attempting to follow the convoluted plots.

He gave up after the first episode, not having taken any of it in, and made his way to bed. Alpine curled up next to his head. Becca would tease him about it, but he didn’t mind. Did he sometimes wish he had someone to come home to after work, to tell stories about his day, and to hold as he slept? Sure he did. But he had a good life, he had his people, even if he didn’t see them as much as he wished.

He really couldn’t complain about his life, and he certainly didn’t have the time or energy to attempt to find someone. For now, his work was his life, Becca and Alpine were his family, and he was more than okay with that. He drifted off to the cat’s soft purrs, and dreamed that he woke up to someone stroking his hair tenderly.

It was actually just Alpine pawing at him, looking for her breakfast, but hey, that was close enough.

  


  
[Listen to Chapter Two here.](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-2)


	3. Chapter 3

Steve took the last few items of clothing from the dryer and added them to the large pile of clean laundry which now needed to be folded and put away. He checked his watch. Two hours until Teddy and Charlie had to be picked up from school. He sighed. The folding would have to wait till later. He pulled Rosie away from where she had been pressing buttons at random on the tv remote, causing an odd meld of shows to flit across the screen.

He searched in the kitchen cupboards until he found some grocery bags and headed out to the car. Rosie was calm for the duration of the drive to the store, and Steve sent a prayer to whoever may be listening that she would continue like that.

In the parking lot, he braced himself for what was to come. The grocery store was always a touch and go kind of experience. Some days it went smoothly, but there was something about the linoleum aisles and fluorescent lighting, combined with bright packaging and the presence of strangers that seemed to really trigger a two year old’s tantrum gene.

It was all going smoothly through the bread and cereal aisles, Rosie sitting happily in the cart and babbling as she pointed to each item he selected. 

“Yum, nana!” she called, as Steve put a bunch of bananas in the cart. Steve heard a clear _aww_ from someone nearby, and he smiled to himself. He let himself hope that it would continue in this manner, but then he turned down the next aisle and found himself face to face with a woman who smiled at him in an overly familiar way.

“Aww, isn’t she just _precious_!” she commented, making a face at Rosie, who watched her skeptically. The woman continued to coo and make faces, attempting to make Rosie smile, and Steve grew increasingly uncomfortable.

“How old is she?” The woman finally gave up and diverted her attention to Steve.

“She’s two,” Steve replied without elaborating, just looked down at Rosie with a smile.

“Oh, what a great age!” The comment was almost laughable in its predictability, and Steve wanted to ask her if she had never heard of the term _the terrible twos._ He restrained himself, however.

“Do you have any kids yourself?” he asked instead, attempting to divert attention from himself.

“Oh, no, but I just love them!” Steve nodded and forced a smile, half hoping Rosie would say or do something which made it necessary to carry on, but no such luck. After a few moments of awkward silence, in which the woman seemed to expect him to say something else, and he simply looked between her and Rosie uncomfortably, she made some excuse and continued on down the aisle.

He spoke to Rosie softly as he continued, turning onto the freezer aisle and checking his list. Before he could look around for the chicken nuggets, out came the dreaded grabby hands, and Steve winced, knowing exactly what was coming.

“Daddy! Want ice cream!” He exhaled and braced for the inevitable.

“We have ice cream at home, baby, you can have some after we pick up your brother and sister.” He knew before he even finished speaking that it was pointless trying to reason with her.

“WANT NOW, DADDY!” Her little body wriggled around in the seat as she tried to reach for the ice-cream and Steve hastened to make sure she was buckled in securely and wouldn’t fall out.

“No, Rosie. No ice cream now.”

And then it happened. The scream.

He felt heads turn to look at them as she screamed and shouted for ice cream. Mothers holding their well-behaved children by the hand shook their heads, while elderly people sent him pitying looks. He cursed internally and hastily picked up his last few essential items from this aisle before going to the checkout. He didn’t have everything he needed from his list, but he knew from experience that there would be no coming back from this tantrum, and he just didn’t have the energy to continue to handle the looks from total strangers.

There was a line for the checkout, because of course there was, and he spent the wait trying to stop Rosie from throwing every item he had in the cart onto the floor. He had failed to prevent an eggy disaster on their last shopping trip and he wasn’t eager to repeat that little incident again. Finally, they checked out and Steve loaded the groceries into the car one-handed while keeping the other gripped tightly around the still squirming two year old. 

A kind older lady passing by stopped just as he had loaded the last of his groceries and was about to return the cart, offering to take it off his hands and use it for her own groceries. He sighed in relief, passing over the cart with thanks and beginning the arduous task of buckling a writhing, screaming child into a car seat.

Rosie calmed down around the second repeat of _Let it Go_ , just as they were turning into their street. Steve had just about decided to circle the block once to make sure she wouldn’t start up again, when he saw the cars parked outside his house. He let go of that idea and turned into the driveway, hoping the novelty of having guests would be enough to prevent another outburst.

He opened his already unlocked front door and greeted his friends. He had given them keys years ago, and was happy with that decision when he walked in and saw them in the living room, surrounded by stacks of neatly folded clothes. He could smell coffee brewing in the kitchen, and embarrassingly, this was what made his eyes well up, causing his friends to look at him with matching expressions of sympathy and understanding.

“Tasha! Sam!” Rosie wriggled in his arms, demanding to be let down. He put her on the floor and she toddled over to them, immediately being swept up into the air, giggling as though the supermarket incident had never happened.

Steve tried to wipe his eyes subtly while they were occupied with his daughter, but he could tell by the look Natasha gave him when Rosie had dragged Sam away to show him her glitter creation that she, at least, hadn't been fooled.

“You’re struggling, Steve.” Her blunt honesty was something which had appealed to him at the beginning of their friendship, but this caused him to wince. She was right, but he didn’t like admitting it. Admitting that he was failing as a father, that he couldn’t cope on his own. It had been fine when Peggy was still sharing custody, but since she moved, it had just gotten harder and harder.

“You don’t need to say anything. We’re here to help you. Go take a shower and get some work done. You look like you haven’t washed in a week. Tony is going to pick up Teddy and Charlie, and then we are going to sit down and help you figure out how to make this work.” She turned away from him and picked up a pile of laundry, carrying it up the stairs and effectively ending the conversation.

Dazed, Steve simply went and did as he was told. The twinge of guilt he felt as he relaxed in the hot shower was nothing new. But he shook it off, realising as he shampooed his hair that she hadn’t been far off in her estimate of his hygienic practices. He dressed comfortably, as per usual, and went into his studio, smiling at the sound of play from downstairs. It was so much easier to make progress when he didn’t need to leave the door open and strain his ears for screams or suspicious silences.

By the time a knock came on the door, he had actually managed to finish the cover which had been giving him so much trouble. He opened it to see Tony, Rosie on his shoulders and gripping his hair, Teddy clinging to his back, and Charlie hovering behind.

“Dinner time, daddy!” they shouted in unison, Tony included. Teddy reached out and grabbed Steve’s hand, dragging him down the stairs to the kitchen. Steve froze in the doorway at the sight before him. The table was set, and a steaming dish of what looked like Sam’s lasagne sat as a centerpiece.

“I helped cook!” announced Charlie, beaming proudly, and Sam nodded in agreement. Steve gave into the pushing from Teddy and sat in his usual seat, while his friends and family found their spots around him. 

Natasha dished out the food and they ate in raucous companionship. Teddy spent more time trying to wiggle his front teeth than eating, and Rosie wound up with sauce in her hair, but Steve honestly didn’t know when the last time he had felt so at peace in his own home was. Steve choked up a little as Charlie began regaling them all on her project and the book she had been reading. 

“We’re doing space projects in school and I picked Jupiter. I got put in a group with Bella and Jack, but Bella said she wanted to do Saturn instead. Jack sided with me so we got Jupiter. Bella wasn’t happy with that though, so she barely did any work and she said Jupiter only has 12 moons!” She had an expression of such outrage on her face, that Steve could only look at her incredulously until she explained. 

“Daddy, that’s _obviously_ not true! There’s _seventy nine!_ I told her so and then she went to the teacher and said I was making fun of her, but Miss Martin had heard the whole thing and moved Bella to the Saturn group. So now it’s just me and Jack, and maybe Laura if she can convince Miss Martin to move her too since now there's extra people in Saturn. She’s gonna ask tomorrow.” 

Steve nodded along, reacting to Charlie’s monologue with gasps and little sounds of agreement when appropriate. He honestly loved hearing her speak about her school work, and as they finished their food, Steve realised he hadn’t actually spoken to his oldest child all that much in the past couple of weeks, and he genuinely missed spending time listening to what she had to say.

“Yeah, well today _my_ teacher said that we’re gonna be planting a class garden and she asked if anybody ever planted stuff before and I said yeah cause I DID, right, dad?” Steve nodded at Teddy’s question, remembering the trip they had made to Peggy’s parent’s place in the south of England the previous year. Teddy had loved helping his grandpa in the yard.

“Anyways, Ellie said I was lying because we don’t have a yard and I yelled at her that she was wrong and the teacher told me to apologise but she believed me anyway.” Steve gave him a stern look for raising his voice, which quickly gave way to a smile as he ruffled his son’s hair. 

When they had finished eating, Natasha ushered the family out of the kitchen, insisting that they leave the clean up to the guests.

“But you guys have already done so much, I-”

“Go spend time with your children, Rogers, or I swear to god.” Her death stare was enough for Steve to pick up Rosie and Teddy, one under each arm and both squealing in delight, and carry them out to the living room, chasing Charlie ahead of him with playful roars. 

“Oh no! Monster daddy!” she shouted, and Steve doubled down on his roars, carefully dropping the other two and letting them run ahead.

“I’m gonna get ya!” he growled, prowling after them. Rosie shrieked, giggling as he came close. He chased them around the room, occasionally making a swipe at their ankles. When he managed to grab Teddy, he pulled him onto his lap on the sofa, tickling him vigorously and relishing in the loud laughter coming from his son. 

“No! Lemme go!” he shouted, as Charlie snuck up in a rescue attempt. Steve mimed a yawn.

“Monster daddy is very tired. Nobody better escape while I’m asleep!” He closed his eyes, making obnoxiously loud snoring noises as Charlie moved his hands and he felt Teddy jump off his lap. Steve woke with a loud shout and looked around in mock anger. Teddy crouched behind the curtain, and Steve pretended to be unable to see him.

“What happened to my prisoner? Did you see my prisoner, Rose?” Rosie shook her head vigorously, wide eyed and unable to stop herself from looking to the curtain.

“Hmmm. Maybe he’s…. under the sofa!” Steve jumped down and looked into the inch wide opening between sofa and carpet as the room erupted into laughter. 

“No… Not there… Maybe he’s in the cabinet?” More laughter as Steve opened the door with an “Aha!” only to groan loudly when all he found was board games and puzzles.

He prowled around the room, Charlie and Rosie following, both of them darting glances at the curtain. Steve shushed them and began tiptoeing to the curtain, the giggles from behind growing louder the longer Teddy evaded capture.

Steve pounced, pulling back the curtains and swooping Teddy up into the air. He screamed with laughter and was subjected to another round of tickling. Charlie and Rosie piled on top of Steve where he was crouched and began tickling him back. He toppled over, and Teddy joined in the attack.

“Oh no!” he shouted between bouts of laughter. “I’ve been defeated!” The tickling continued until it was unbearable. He reared up and managed to gather all three children into his arms.

He knew it couldn’t last, he couldn’t make his friends come over to cook and clean for him every day, and tomorrow he would go back to being stuck in the kitchen while his children played just out of his sight, trying to parse snippets of their conversations and laughter, or more likely the cartoon they were watching on the television as he worked. But he could enjoy it while it lasted.

Later that evening, after all the children had been put to bed, the four friends sat around the now blessedly tidy living room.

“Steve, you can’t keep going like this.” To Steve’s surprise, it was Sam and not Natasha who started speaking. “You’re barely holding it together.”

“I’m doing the best that I can.” Steve snapped back, because he was.

He couldn’t see how he could be doing more. He saw the parents in the blogs and YouTube channels he watched carry on with their perfect lives, in their tidy houses with well-behaved and happy children and he couldn’t fathom how they made it work. Sure, most of them were two-parent households, but there were other single parents he often saw on the school run, who worked full time away from home and still managed to have a better relationship with their kids than he did. Maybe he was just a naturally bad parent, but he couldn’t seem to get it right. Even today, his back ached after the physical play, and he knew he would be spending the next few days attempting to recover.

“You’re not a bad parent, Steve. Trust me, I know bad parenting when I see it.” Tony seemed to sense what he was thinking, and his expression showed that he meant what he said.

“You just have to learn to accept help when it’s offered,” Natasha reminded him.

“Alright, fine.” Steve was growing increasingly irritated. “Say I do accept that I need help. Today was perfect, guys, it helped a lot, but you all have jobs, partners, commitments. You can’t help me out like this every day, and I certainly can’t afford to hire someone, so what is there to do?”

Sam and Natasha exchanged a look, glancing at Tony and then back at Steve. 

“This is where I come in. I noticed a certain blog open on your phone the other day, and I —”

“You snooped in my phone? Tony!”

“That is beside the point, Steve, just listen. The blog title caught my attention, so I looked it up myself when I got home.” His smile grew mysterious, and somewhat smug. “Turns out, the guy does home visits, helps you set up a routine that works, and to stick to it.”

Steve’s brows furrowed. He wasn’t sure what to think about a total stranger coming into his home and telling him what to do and how to parent his children.

“The guy is legit, Steve. I did my research when Tony raised the idea with me. Fully qualified, glowing reviews.” Trust Natasha to have thought of everything. Steve struggled to think of a reason to stop this from happening.

“I know I’m not exactly broke, but still I need to think about money, and—” Tony interrupted.

“As though I’d let you pay for this. A better routine means a more productive Steve, and a more productive Steve means better work. This is on me.”

“Peggy wouldn’t-” 

“Peggy wouldn’t want to hear you’re wasting away trying to make things work when they are not. She would be even more unhappy if you refused help when it was offered,” Sam replied with a knowing look before he could finish, and Steve knew he had been cornered.

“Fine. Fine! Show me the details, and I’ll think about it.” He conceded, and by the expression on Tony’s face when he handed over the printed information, Steve knew he could never have thought of a protest they didn’t have an answer for.

They left around ten in the evening, leaving him feeling calmer and more collected than he had in a long time. He read through the files, feeling a faint flicker of hope curl in his gut. He still had reservations; he wasn’t going to commit to this just yet, but still. Maybe this Supermanny guy could help him make a move in the right direction. Maybe he did just need a little help.

Sighing, Steve took out his phone and opened up YouTube, typing in the username. Natasha may have done her own research, but now it was his turn. He trusted her to have checked the credentials, the reviews, and she had probably even done a full background check on the guy, but Steve needed to be sure.

~*~*~

Bucky’s work phone rang while he was sitting down in his living room, Netflix playing old episodes of The Great British Baking Show as he treated himself to the tub of Ben & Jerry's he had been saving all week. He rushed to pause the show and swallow the large mouthful he had just shoved in his mouth before answering, mustering up as much professionalism as he could. 

“Hi, this is Bucky Barnes, SuperManny. How can I help you?” He screwed his eyes shut to fend off the brainfreeze as he scrambled for paper and a pen. He was not usually this much of a mess on business calls, but then again, business calls did not usually come through at ten p.m. on a Friday night, so he didn’t let himself feel too guilty about it.

“Barnes! Great, I need you. Well, I don’t but my buddy does.” Bucky made a sound of affirmation and jumped into his usual routine.

“Well, alright. I have a few different rates, depending on how long you want me for, and when. I usually-”

“Does a month sound alright? He’s really going through it, and I think he’s gonna need all the help he can get.” Bucky’s eyes bugged as he jotted that down.

“Well, I generally find that a week at most is all-”

“Yeah, well, money is no problem, and I want to help him out as much as I can. A month sounds about right, but obviously if you have other clients, that’s fair.”

“Well, I do have a bit of time between jobs coming up, and I suppose I could-”

“Excellent! Send me the invoice and I’ll sort it out. Anything else?”

“Well, yes, I mean I’m going to need to know more about the family, so I can be fully prepped, and I’ll need to consider this proposition carefully, Mr.—?”

“Stark. Tony Stark.”

“Right, Mr. Stark. Like I said a month is a lot more than I usually go for, I’ll need to check my plans, adapt them and so on to make sure it will work over an extended contract.” Already Bucky’s mind was whirring. A month with a single family could be the perfect opportunity, really. It would give him an opportunity to try out some strategies that just weren’t feasible within a week or two, plus he couldn’t ignore the potentially large paycheck it would get him.

With that kind of money, it would give him a lot of freedom to pick and choose between gigs in the following months, to really focus on himself and figure out the next steps in his career.

Tony was still talking while Bucky ran through the possibilities.

“Sounds fair enough. I’ve got an email address from your website, I’ll have someone send you the info about Steve — that’s my buddy — and the kids. They’re good people. I just want to do what I can for them.” And Bucky was still on the fence, he was always hesitant when the first contact came through a third party, but the genuine concern in the man’s voice almost made him agree then and there.

“I’ll get back to you by the end of the weekend, Mr. Stark. Could you include a number for your friend — Steve — in that email? I just wanna be sure he’s aware of what will happen if I do take this on.”

“Sure thing, Vin Diesel. Talk to you soon.” And with that, the call ended and Bucky blinked at the phone. 

The longest he had ever spent with a single family, apart from being rehired once when a couple had triplets a year after he had helped with their three-year old, was nine days. And even then, he had felt uncomfortable after the first five, feeling he had already done all he could, and he had felt as though he was in the way of the parents being able to fully work out their routine in a genuine manner. Maybe he shouldn’t take this job. He should call Stark back, and tell him he couldn’t, in good faith, take the job for that long.

He went as far as to dial the number back, but it was a company line and the menu options could not have been more confusing if they had been designed purely to drive him insane. So he resolved to wait until he got the email with information on the family, then he could reply with his answer. After all, he had promised to think about it.

He flopped back down and pressed play on Netflix. His ice cream had melted to mush, but he continued to spoon it into his mouth, watching as Paul and Mary critiqued a particularly sloppy custard tart. Hopefully the email would come tomorrow and he could let the guy down easy, or maybe renegotiate the timeframe.

Sometimes Bucky wondered what he was doing, really. It was fine when he was actually working, and in that professional headspace. When he was there, he was prepared, he had his shit together. He was, essentially, a functional adult. The rest of the time, however, he felt like he was barely holding it together. 

Sure, he managed to feed both himself and Alpine, but his diet tended to consist of junk food and takeout unless Becca was home and he felt a duty to make sure she was eating something nutritious. The apartment was a mess most of the time, too. He kept a clean space in the area that could be seen in the frame of the camera he used to film his videos, but other than that, well. It was a lot easier to stick to a cleaning routine when you actually managed to spend time at home, rather than leaving the house at six am, and not getting home until after eight or nine.

If he took on a month-long job, he didn’t like to think what kind of state his apartment would fall into.

On the other hand, maybe a month-long job would pay enough for him to pause and re-evaluate his business model to actually have a semi-normal work life balance at the end of it. He turned and screamed into his pillow in frustration. He was going to need help with this decision.

  


  
[Listen to Chapter Three here.](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-3)


	4. Chapter 4

Steve looked up the _Supermanny_ blog which Natasha and Tony had referred to, realising he had actually seen it more than once during his desperate, late night googling marathons, but hadn’t clicked onto it before that night Tony had come over. He clicked on the first link; it was a recent one, which gave advice on helping older children adapt to a new baby. Steve found himself smiling as he read it. The guy really had a way with words, painting a picture which sounded very familiar to Steve. He and Peggy probably could have benefitted from this advice when Teddy had been born. 

Of course, they had managed. They had gotten through it together, but there was no “together” anymore. He had to do it alone now. He skimmed the rest of the article, recognising the clear tone of someone who knew what he was doing. He didn’t hesitate to click onto the next article that was recommended.

He stayed up far later than he had intended that night, reading blog posts. Before long, he had migrated over to YouTube and was watching video after video. Steve couldn’t not recognise the attractiveness of the man in the videos, even on his small phone screen. He had wide, expressive eyes, and a kind face. The videos were well edited, and unlike so many other parenting videos, Steve didn’t feel like he was being advertised to or judged. It was easy to keep watching, until he realised he was almost three hours late taking his meds, startling at the time.

The following morning, he was tired. Thankfully, it was a Saturday, so at least Charlie stayed in bed a little later than usual. Rosie was awake at her usual time, but he put on Frozen and hoped she would stay fixed on it for at least a little while, as he got breakfast together. Teddy came barrelling down the stairs just as Anna and Hans sang about finishing each other’s sandwiches, and went straight for his lego bricks.

By the time the eggs and bacon were cooked, Charlie had made her way out of bed and he dished up the meal. Steve breathed a sigh of relief at the ease of the morning, grateful that there was no laundry to do and that the house was relatively clean, thanks to his friends. They could take it easy this morning. He could get through it.

Steve should know by now that, as a parent, that kind of thinking was dangerous. The second he called Rosie to come eat, there was a screech.

“NO! Watching Elsa!” Steve sighed, pressing pause on the movie and trying to cajole her into the kitchen to eat. The scream got louder, and she began wriggling. Steve could feel a headache brewing, and he picked her up, kicking and screaming. He carried her to the kitchen where he sat her down at her plate, which she promptly shoved off the table, resulting in runny eggs being smeared all over the floor.

As he was grabbing a cloth to wipe it up, Teddy must have swiped a piece of bacon from Charlie’s plate, because soon Rosie’s protests were accompanied by a sound of outrage from his eldest. 

“DAD! Teddy stole from my plate!”

“DID NOT!”

“DID TOO!”

They continued bickering loudly until Steve intervened.

“Teddy, tell the truth. Did you take her bacon?”

“Nuh-uh.” Teddy spoke through a mouthful of bacon, and Steve noticed that he still had his three pieces intact on his plate. Steve raised an eyebrow. 

“That’s a lie. Apologise, and give Charlie a piece of your bacon.”

“BUT I DIDN’T-”

“Just do as I say!” Steve found himself raising his voice slightly, and winced.

Teddy picked up a piece of bacon from his plate and threw it stubbornly at Charlie, who screamed in outrage and threw it back. Rosie had managed to squirm out of her chair, and had walked through the eggs remaining on the floor towards the living room. In the time it took to grab her before she walked on the rug and got eggs on that too, Charlie and Teddy had devolved into what was rapidly becoming a brawl. He shifted Rosie in his arms and managed to drag them apart, rapidly losing whatever tendril of patience he had left. 

Their arguments merged together and Steve closed his eyes in frustration, feeling a headache build behind his eyes. 

“That is it! Both of you, go to your rooms until I say you can come back out!” Rosie wriggled in his arms, kicking so his pajama pants were smeared with egg. Charlie and Teddy shouted in protest again, and he sighed. He picked Teddy up under his free arm, making sure his flailing limbs didn’t hit Rosie, and marched him up to his room, closing the door on his cries. Charlie had followed him up, still protesting, until he pointed into her room with a look that brokered no argument, and she looked at him, angry tears in her eyes.

“I didn’t even do _anything!_ Teddy started it! I hate you! I wish I could live with mom!” and she slammed the door to her room, leaving Steve wincing in the hall.

Rosie, who had taken a brief break from protesting during her siblings’ outburst, took this as a cue to begin struggling again. 

“DOWN, daddy! Watch Elsa!” Steve was long out of patience by this stage, and simply brought her into the bathroom, stripping her and washing off the eggs before dressing her and carrying her back downstairs, plopping her on the sofa and sitting beside her. His eyes pricked with tears, replaying Charlie’s words in his head. 

It was cliche, but he had dreaded hearing those words. He knew that Charlie had taken the divorce badly. She was the only one of the kids who had been old enough to understand at the time, and it had been rough on her. Peggy had almost turned down the job in London when it had been offered, because they had worried about how Charlie would take it.

They had spent so long discussing it, eventually realising that it was really the best option. They had sat the children down to tell them, and it remained one of the most difficult conversations Steve had ever had, including when he had come out to his Mom right before he had been wheeled away for surgery at fifteen. She had just hugged him and told him she loved him, then brought him out for dinner as soon as he had recovered enough.

Charlie had become more introverted for a long time after Peggy had left, but Steve had thought she was adjusting. Hearing her say those words brought him right back to that moment, that feeling of heartbreak he had felt when they had made the decision to divorce in the first place.

All the tension left his body, replaced with the aches he always felt after a sleepless night, and he let his head fall into his hands. He couldn’t fight the sobs that began to wrack his body, feeling utterly wrecked both physically and emotionally. But then he felt a small hand grip his wrist as Rosie noticed his crying.

“Dada sad?” came her small voice.

Steve lifted his head to look at her where she stood in front of him. She had climbed down from the sofa and retrieved her favourite teddy from the floor; the one he always gave her when she was upset, which had been hand knitted by his mother and owned by all three of his children at some point. It had once been a rabbit, but was now stained and stretched out. He wiped his face, and smiled tearfully as she handed him the toy and reached out a pudgy hand to touch his cheek. 

“No cry, dada. It’s okay.”

He took the toy, and lifted her onto his lap, where she hugged him carefully, patting his head as he did for her when she was sick or injured. Steve hugged her back, breathing in her scent and feeling the tears begin to fall again, gentler this time. The house was silent, the stomping feet stilled upstairs. 

Steve collected himself and blinked away the last of the tears, kissing the top of Rosie’s head tenderly. 

“Thank you, baby. Daddy’s alright. Let’s go check on your brother and sister, eh?” She nodded and kissed him sloppily back, smiling at him. 

He went up the stairs, holding onto Rosie like a lifeline. He knocked on Teddy’s door first, who opened it snot-nosed and red-faced.

“Sorry.” He pouted, and Steve ruffled his hair. 

“Thank you. Why don’t you bring Rosie back downstairs and put the movie back on?” Teddy wiped his nose on his sleeve and took his sister’s hand when Steve put her down, leading her downstairs. Steve wrinkled his nose at the gesture, but elected to pick his battles, turning to Charlie’s door with a sigh as he heard the movie start back up. He knocked tentatively and braced himself.

“Go away!” 

Steve frowned but didn’t knock again, just sat down on the floor opposite her door and waited, wincing at the pain in his back. A minute passed, and then he heard quiet footsteps from within, and the door opened just a crack. Steve stood, holding back a hiss, and made his way into the room. He switched on the light and sat next to his daughter where she had perched on the edge of her bed. 

She curled into him with a sniffle as soon as he sat down, and he put his arm around her, his heart clenching.

“I’m sorry, dad.” Steve ran his fingers through her hair tenderly.

“I know you didn’t mean it. I know you miss her.” She sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. Steve continued stroking her hair as he spoke. “I know. It really hurt daddy to hear you say that though. I’m trying to be a good dad.” She hiccuped through her tears and squeezed him tighter, looking up at him.

“Y-you are a good dad. I’m really sorry.” Her face was blotchy and her eyelashes clumped together with tears. Steve nodded in understanding and ran his thumb over her face, wiping away the tears as they fell. They sat in silence for a moment, until she went still and her tears subsided. Steve stood, and reached out his hand to her.

“Come on, let’s go downstairs. I think Teddy has an apology for you, and then how about I make some pancakes since we didn’t get to eat any of our eggs?” She smiled tearfully, just as he had done earlier himself, and took his hand. Teddy and Rosie were in the living room, Rosie sitting on the floor, barely a foot from the television, and Teddy curled on the sofa. He looked up as they walked in.

“Sorry for taking your bacon,” he mumbled, and Charlie gave him a half smile in return, joining him on the sofa. Steve watched them watch the movie and turned back to begin making pancakes, this time timing it so the dish was ready just as the movie ended. 

They ate happily, and Steve felt love radiate through him for his imperfect little family. He knew in that moment that he would do anything for them, even if that meant letting Tony hire some stranger to come tell him what to do. He looked over the message Tony had sent him. He had a few qualms still, but he was open to the idea, more so than he had been last night at least.

~*~*~

Bucky checked his email the morning after agreeing to consider the job, but there was nothing from Stark. He put it out of his mind and went out to visit Thor and Jane instead. He wanted to catch up, as it had been a while since he had seen them, and he had a feeling one of them would be able to help him settle his mind on the dilemma he was having.

Freya was playing in the yard when he arrived, and ran into his arms as soon as she saw him. 

“Bucky!” He picked her up and spun her around as she giggled.

“Hey Munchkin,” He put her down and made sure she wasn’t too dizzy before releasing her. “Mom and dad inside?” She nodded happily, and smiled widely, pointing excitedly at a gap between her teeth. Bucky gasped dramatically.

“When did that happen?” he asked her.

“Just this morning. I can’t wait to see what the tooth fairy brings!” Bucky fawned over the missing tooth, giggling excitedly at her theories as they made their way inside.

Thor greeted him in the entryway as enthusiastically as Bucky had greeted Freya, expressing his delight at the surprise visit.

“What brings you to our home, friend?”

“Just a visit, I missed my little Munchkin!” Bucky explained, ruffling Freya’s hair cheerfully. Thor smiled his infectious smile, and led the way into the kitchen. 

“Jane is working upstairs, she will be down in a little while, I think. You know how she can be when she gets hit with an idea.” Thor boomed, as he started the coffee machine. “The usual, I assume?” Bucky nodded.

“What is she working on now?” 

“Ahh, that is something you will have to ask her. The science generally goes over my head, but she explains it well.” Bucky nodded in understanding, accepting the coffee from Thor and admiring the mug, which had clearly been designed by the little girl currently scrambling up onto one of the island stools opposite him.

“And you, friend? Any new jobs upcoming?” Bucky hesitated before answering.

“Maybe, maybe not.” At Thor’s questioning look, he elaborated. “I’m not really stuck for money right now, but an opportunity has come up. Not my usual gig, but it might be good for me?”

“How so?”

“I just feel pretty exhausted every time I finish a job. I need to figure out a way to change things, so I can actually spend some time at home. This job would pay enough that I could actually take a break and re-evaluate.” Thor and Jane had been urging him to spend more time on himself, so Bucky was sure that the fact he was even considering that was pleasing to his friend. But Thor just gave a half shrug, waiting for the “but”, so Bucky continued.

“The thing is, though, it’s a month long. I don’t know if I could make it work. Besides, Becca will be home during that time and I’ll wanna spend time with her.” 

“And the family?” Thor asked. Bucky couldn’t say he was surprised by the question, Thor seemed to understand his motivation for his work better than anyone else he knew, but that didn’t mean he had any sort of answer for him, either.

“That’s the other thing, I don’t know. Call came from someone called Tony Stark, for a friend of his. I don’t know anything about the guy.” At the name, Thor’s expression changed.

“Stark. I know the name, I believe he funds part of the lab Jane is currently in. A good man, by all accounts. And likely to pay well, if that is a concern.” Bucky thought about this. Money wasn’t a concern, but he had had a niggling thought in the back of his mind that it may have been a prank call, as he couldn't think who would be willing to pay his own high rates for that duration.

“Hmm. I still don’t know for sure. I guess I can think about it some more, get the rest of the info, decide from there.”

“You have always wanted to help people, Bucky. I think if you start from there, you will know what to do.”

They fell silent after that, and Freya took it as her cue to begin tugging at Bucky’s arm, forcing him to set down his coffee and follow her into her playroom. Thor’s booming laugh was heard from behind as they went through the door.

“This is my new Lego, I’m building a _whole town_ and it’s gonna be so cool. I’m saving up for a new set to make more houses and I’m gonna get it with the money from the tooth fairy. Mom said it might not be enough but I hope it is. I was brushing super carefully all week so it’s extra clean and I hope the fairy likes it.”

“I’m sure it’s a perfect tooth, and maybe if the fairy doesn’t end up giving you enough for the Lego set, you could do some extra chores from the chart to get some extra pocket money?” Her eyes lit up, and she raced over to the chart on the wall, examining it carefully before darting upstairs, no doubt to do one of the chores immediately. It was a fairly simple system, one Bucky used with most of his clients, and he loved seeing how much Freya thrived with it.

“Thanks Bucky!” came the call from the stairs as she climbed. Bucky went back to Thor in the kitchen, where they set to catching up. Bucky was just standing up to leave when Jane came down the stairs.

“Bucky, great to see you! Sorry I didn’t come down sooner, I had a breakthrough on some research and I just had to keep going!”

“No worries, I get it. What’s the project now?”

Jane poured herself a coffee and refilled Bucky’s without needing to ask, starting to fill him in on the project she was working on. As with Thor, the science went totally over his head, but it was fascinating nonetheless. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and he checked it subtly.

“Oh, it’s an email from your boss,” he commented, showing Jane the message from Stark in his inbox. She looked at him curiously, and Bucky gestured for Thor to explain as he read the contents. The email was long, full of a sob story, and with pictures at the end.

Small feet thundered down the stairs, and Freya barged in just as Thor had finished explaining Bucky’s dilemma and Bucky had skimmed the email contents.

“I put away all my books _and_ I made my bed so I put two beads in the cup, okay?” Thor and Jane both gave her a thumbs up, and Freya climbed up to look at what Bucky was doing. “That’s Teddy from school! He’s always so naughty at recess and he lost _two stars_ yesterday. Why is he on your phone, Bucky? Are you gonna make him be good?”

Bucky just shrugged and looked at Thor and Jane for more information. They glanced at each other and then at Bucky’s phone.

“Teddy and his sisters are good kids,” Jane explained, mostly addressing Freya. “Their dad is on his own now and it can be tough sometimes.” Freya seemed to consider this.

“Where’s his mom?” They looked conflicted, and Bucky was the one to answer, glancing back at the email.

“She had to go away for work, so their daddy takes care of them.” Freya looked stricken.

“Can’t their mom work at home, like mine?” 

“No, munchkin. Their dad does though, and he loves them a lot.”

“But if they are asking for you then he must not be good enough.” Bucky frowned again, glancing at Thor and Jane for support. Thor pitched in.

“He sounds like he is a great dad, but he does have a lot on his plate. He’s tired, sweetie. He just needs a little help.”

“Are you gonna help him, Bucky?” She looked at him pleadingly, full of concern for her classmate. Bucky considered it, and he really never had been able to say no to that face, so he nodded. Freya’s eyes instantly brightened.

“I knew you would! You’re the best, Bucky. Teddy will be good again in no time and then his daddy won’t be tired all the time, right?” Bucky smiled at her, reassuring her that no matter what, Teddy was going to be alright.

Bucky left shortly after that, slightly unsure of his decision, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back on it. Not when he pictured Freya’s pleading expression. The faces of the three sweet children and their dad kept popping up in his mind too. Thor had been right after all. He wanted to help them, and that was the main thing. Sure, the job would be difficult, but it would be worth it if he could make things easier for the family.

  


  
[Listen to Chapter Four here.](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-4_1)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter today, but hopefully the content makes up for it...

When Bucky got home from visiting Thor and Jane, he opened the email from Stark again and dialed the number within. A harried voice answered.

“Hi, Steve Rogers speaking?” Bucky quickly adopted his professional voice. 

“Hi there, I’m Bucky Barnes, otherwise known as SuperManny.” He winced at the moniker. He always hated referring to himself by his blog title, but it’s the name people remembered. He had regretted choosing it more than once, but by the time he started thinking that it was too much, the business had picked up and it would have been more trouble than it was worth to change it. That was another thing he might try to adjust if he pulled this off. There was a sound of surprise over the phone, so Bucky elaborated.

“Tony Stark gave me your number?” There was a pause on the other end of the line, and he heard a thump and muffled cry from the other end of the call. Bucky winced.

“Oh yeah! Uhh, shit, hold on a sec.” The was a clatter as the phone was set down, followed by the unmistakable sound of a parent checking a child for injuries. The cries continued, getting louder until the phone was picked back up. “Hi, uh.. Mr. Barnes was it?” Bucky made a sound of confirmation. “Right, well I’m not denying help would be great, but I just don’t know if… Shh, Rosie, it’s alright baby, it’s okay…. I just don't like the idea of a stranger in my home for that long.” Bucky let out a sigh of relief.

“I get that. A month sounds a little long to me too, to be honest. How long do you think would be optimal?” Steve seemed to think about it.

“I’m not sure, I’ve never done anything like this, honestly.” Bucky understood that, so he decided to hedge a little.

“We could always play it by ear? I’ll plan for the month, but we can always cut it short if either of us feels it’s not helpful anymore.” Bucky heard more shushing noises over the line, and then the voice came back.

“That actually sounds great. I know it’s probably silly to be nervous about having extra help, but...” Bucky felt himself smile in spite of himself at the relief in the voice. 

“Not at all. Look, why don’t I text you to work out the details? Sounds like you have your hands full there.” A huff of laughter down the line, accompanied by another soft whine and a loud sniffle.

“I always do. Text would be great. Thanks, Mr. Barnes.”

“That’s what I’m here to help with. Talk to you soon, Mr. Rogers.”

They hung up, and Bucky stared at his phone in confusion. He never texted clients. Always preferred to stick with calls or emails, it just felt more professional. Less personal. He shrugged, there was no taking it back now. He sent out a quick text to Rogers, saving the number in his usual way; first initial and surname, and typed out a quick message.

He took a deep breath, hoping he hadn’t just made a big mistake. 

~*~*~

Steve’s Saturday passed relatively quietly, the whole family staying in their pajamas, watching movies. Steve ordered pizza for dinner, too worn out to attempt to cook again after the disaster of breakfast and the call came just as he was clearing up the box, putting it down on the coffee table when he heard the ringing from where he had left his phone in the kitchen.

Barnes seemed to be an understanding guy, and they managed to work out some sort of plan despite Rosie pulling the pizza box down on top of her and promptly falling under it, letting out a wail of distress. By the time they wrapped up and the call disconnected, Steve was actually feeling quite positive about the arrangement. Steve checked Rosie over, making sure she wasn’t hurt before his phone buzzed with a text. He saved the number before he read the message.

> SUPERMANNY: Hello, Bucky Barnes here from SuperManny. We discussed the possibility of me working with you for a week with the option of extending should more time be required. Please respond with a date which would work to begin. I am available from Monday, and I also have some time open over the next month. Thank you.

Steve squinted at the formality of the message, shrugging as he typed a response. It was a business communication, he supposed.

> Steve: Thanks, Mr. Barnes. Monday may be quite short notice, but I don’t want to wait too long. Would Wednesday work for you? Steve.
> 
> SUPERMANNY: Wednesday should be perfect. Tony informed me you work from home, so I will be there around four for first introductions. Please contact me with any changes of plans or questions you may have.

And please, call me Bucky.

Steve found himself smiling down at his phone, and edited the contact to read  _ Bucky.  _ He replied with a thumbs-up emoji, attention leaving the phone as he spotted the time.

He disposed of the pizza boxes and went to check on the older children where they were playing in their rooms, before getting Rosie ready for bed. He put her down, and went back to the living room. No response on his phone, but the conversation had been finished anyway. 

He sent a group message to his friends instead.

> Steve: “Supermanny” called. He’s starting wed. Thx Tony. I hope this works.

He received supportive messages from Sam, and smug “I told you so’s” from Natasha and Tony, before locking his phone and going to inform his older children that there was half an hour till bedtime. There was some whining, but Steve took it in stride for once, and by the time they were all washed and tucked in, he fell into bed himself, feeling more relaxed than he had in a long time, and slept peacefully. 

The next few days passed in a haze of school drop-offs and pickups, starting a new sketch for the interior of the children’s book whose cover he had been so occupied with before when he could squeeze out a few minutes. On Tuesday, he sat the children down to tell them they would be having a guest for the next few days.

“Do I need to move into Rosie’s room?” Steve smiled at Charlie’s question, but shook his head.

“No, he isn’t going to be spending the night. He’ll come over after school tomorrow, and go home when you guys are asleep. Then he might come at different times of day after that.” Charlie nodded, and Teddy looked like he was thinking.

“Why is he coming?” Steve thought carefully before answering.

“He’s going to help daddy out a little, that’s all.”

“Will he yell at us if we’re being bad?” Steve shook his head no.

“He’s just gonna be watching for a day or two,” Steve repeated the information he had picked up from reading the blog and his talk with Bucky. “He might tell me what to do if you guys act up or if something goes a little bit wrong, but he won’t yell at anyone.” Teddy nodded, seemingly mollified, and asked one last question.

“What’s his name?”

“It’s Bucky.”

With that, they were all satisfied, and he let them go back to their games. He looked around the house, considering doing some extra cleaning before Bucky showed up, but then stopped himself. He wanted an accurate picture of their daily lives, or it wouldn’t work. So Steve went upstairs to work on his piece some more before bedtime, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Wednesday dawned, dark and gloomy, and the mood in the Rogers household reflected that. Teddy refused to put on socks, and Charlie was frantically searching for something which she couldn’t seem to describe accurately, all while Rosie sat in her chair, happily smearing oatmeal on her face and vest.

Finally, Steve got them out the door and into school, greeting the other parents at the gate, and engaging in banal small talk before heading home to work as usual.

He almost forgot that the so-called  _ Supermanny  _ was due at four, until after he had brought the kids home from school and served them grilled cheese for their after school snack. The doorbell rang just as Teddy began to protest that Charlie's sandwich was “stretchier” than his, and attempted to grab it from her plate to trade.

He opened the door with cheese in his hair and a harried expression.

“Hi, you must be Bucky?”

  


  
[Listen to Chapter Five here.](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-5)


	6. Chapter 6

Bucky prepared for this job the same way he did any other; checking his notes and previous blog posts to refresh his memory on anything which may be relevant. When the time came, he grabbed his bag, dressed professionally and hopped in his car, starting his work playlist and letting himself slip into his professional persona. The drive was short this time, and he barely had three songs to adjust. He pulled into the driveway, double checking the address in the email before turning off the engine and taking a breath.

He got out of the car and walked to the front door, taking in the slightly ragged front lawn and the car with toys piled in the rear window. He paused on the stoop and plastered a grin on his face before ringing the doorbell. There was a screech from inside before the door opened to reveal a tall blond man, slightly on the skinny side, with cheese in his hair, and a stain on his shirt. He was wincing at the sound of what was clearly a brewing fight in the other room. This must be Steve, he surmised. A small part of Bucky’s brain, the part he made sure was pushed as far back as he could make it while he worked, noticed the sharp blue of his eyes, and the charming — if strained — smile, but it was quickly dismissed and replaced with an assessment of the situation at hand.

A toddler stood in the entryway, watching him curiously, while two older children were shouting, covered in pieces of what seemed to have once been grilled cheese sandwiches.

“Hi, you must be Bucky?” 

Bucky smiled easily and reached out to shake the man’s hand.

“That’s me. Steve, I assume?” Steve nodded and stepped back from the door, gesturing Bucky in and reaching to pick up the toddler from where she had just made a run for the door.

The squabbling from the kitchen had stopped, and now Bucky could see the two older children; a boy with dark, curly hair, around five or six, who Bucky figured must be Freya’s classmate Teddy, and an older girl — Bucky placed her at about eight, with a blonde ponytail. Bucky scanned his memory for the details from Stark’s email and figured the older girl must be Charlie, meaning the toddler must be Rosie.

Teddy and Charlie watched him curiously as he walked in the door, taking in his surroundings. It was a nice house: clearly well taken care of, though there were clear signs that housework could not always be a priority — toys scattered around the floor, and objects placed along the stairs as though waiting to be carried up. The kitchen slash dining area was straight ahead, and a door on the left presumably led to the living room. Bucky turned to Steve, who hovered awkwardly in the entryway, holding a fidgeting Rosie in one arm and watching him carefully.

“Alright, so, today I just want you to act as you normally do. I know that’s weird with an extra person around, but I’ll try to make myself scarce. I just need to see what you need.” He smiled his usual charming smile, the one that put parents at ease, and watched as Steve nodded his head once and went into the kitchen, asking the older children to please eat their sandwiches.

“But it’s cold now!” whined the boy.

“Well, then you should have eaten it when it was hot instead of arguing.” The children grumbled but sat down to eat, chewing with an expression of such stubborn frustration that Bucky found himself suppressing a grin.

Bucky watched as Steve coaxed the children through their meal and collected the dishes, putting them into the dishwasher while they went into the living room. Teddy immediately went to pick up a games console while Charlie sat down with a doll which she began to dress.

After a few moments, Steve called out. 

“Teddy! Charlie! Homework!” The children stayed put. Steve called to them again, and Charlie finished buttoning the doll’s cardigan and made her way to the kitchen with a sigh.

Bucky followed her and saw Steve point her towards the table. She picked up her school bag from where it had been discarded on the floor and set up at the table, pulling out books, pencil cases and worksheets from her bag. Steve had finished washing the pan from the sandwiches and went to stand in the door to the living room. 

“Teddy.” The voice held a warning, but there was no reply. Steve made his way to stand in front of where Teddy was sitting on the sofa, engrossed in the console. “Homework.”

“No, I need to finish this race, I can’t leave—”

“Now.” Steve’s face was hard but Teddy made no move. Steve sighed and Bucky could see his brain working. His eyes flickered as though he was tempted to look up and check Bucky’s reaction, and he was almost impressed when Steve remained focused on the child in front of him. All too often parents would check Bucky’s face for approval before taking action, making his job that much harder because he clearly wasn’t seeing the way they normally acted.

Steve’s resolve seemed to settle on him like a weight, and he began to reach out. Bucky suppressed a wince as Steve took the console away and shut it off, anticipating the cry of outrage before it came.

“DAD! I was in the middle of a race! I didn’t get a chance to save!”

“I told you it’s time for homework. Now go get your bag, no arguments. You can have the Switch back later.” Teddy’s outrage had quickly devolved into angry tears and Bucky could tell Steve was losing control of the situation, but he stopped himself from interfering as Steve picked up the child and brought him into the kitchen to sit at the table.

Teddy continued to cry as Steve grabbed the green school bag and opened it, taking out a workbook and flicking to the marked page. Teddy barely acknowledged it, and Bucky noticed Charlie’s growing expression of irritation as she covered her ears while staring at her own work.

The situation rapidly went downhill further, Steve trying to engage Teddy while Charlie rapidly lost patience. Before long, Teddy was crying and attempting to push his books off the table, and Charlie had slammed her book shut and stormed upstairs with it. Bucky bit his lip as Steve allowed her to go, continuing to try reason with Teddy.

Eventually, Steve had managed to get Teddy to complete his homework, with plenty of hand-holding (and even pencil-holding, at one point). Bucky glanced at his watch. What should have been no more than five minutes work had taken about fifteen. Charlie stomped down about five minutes later, and held out her work for Steve to look over. He glanced over it and gave her an approving smile.

“Looking good, Charlie.” She turned to put her books away, and Steve did the same with Teddy’s. Both of the older children immediately returned to their previous activities, and Steve stood as if to reprimand them, when they heard a cry coming from the living room.

Steve’s expression changed and he rushed in after them, and Bucky followed to see Steve picking up Rosie, who was crying loudly. 

“She had my doll!” protested Charlie. “I just took it back!” 

“You need to share, and she had it first.” Steve attempted to reason. Charlie’s expression turned thunderous.

“But Teddy never shares his Switch! And I always have to share with Rosie and she messes up the doll's hair and I can never get it right again!” Rosie, meanwhile, was still screaming, and Bucky could see the moment Steve gave up. His shoulders slumped and he let out a huff of resignation.

“Fine, keep the doll. If you don’t want her to pick it up again, don’t leave it somewhere she can reach.” Steve sighed and sat down with Rosie, pulling out his phone and opening up YouTube in an attempt to distract her from squealing. Five minutes and two repeats of Baby Shark later, she had stopped crying and was instead bouncing energetically on his lap. He put her down and finally glanced up at Bucky sheepishly. 

Bucky gave him his best encouraging smile and a nod, and Steve put away his phone, standing and attempting to straighten the sofa where it looked as though someone had been sitting on the back cushions so they were flattened. If Bucky’s extensive experience with children was any indication, that was likely exactly what had happened.

The evening progressed in a similarly chaotic fashion, the children arguing and playing with their dinner, and Steve running around trying to keep things under control. By the time Steve started getting Rosie ready for bed, Teddy and Charlie were watching TV, after arguing loudly over who got to pick the station and Steve intervened by picking a third kids channel as a forced compromise. 

Bucky watched as Steve bathed and changed Rosie, and then as he chased her around the house for ten minutes before he could get her into her crib and tuck her in. He sat with her for close to half an hour, reading story after story until she fell asleep. By the time he made it back downstairs, the older two children were once again fighting over the remote control. Steve simply intercepted them by switching off the TV until they surrendered it to him, and he managed to sit down with them for a half hour watching something they all agreed on.

Bucky recognised the show as Spongebob and couldn’t fight the soft, fond smile on his face as he remembered how many afternoons he and Becca had spent in a similar position, watching the same show. Sometimes he missed her at that age, the way she would snuggle against him on the sofa. It was only when he noticed Steve watching him, rather than the TV, that he remembered his place and schooled his expression back into careful neutrality, hoping the warmth in his cheeks wasn’t visible from where Steve sat.

The episode ended and Steve switched off the TV again.

“Alright, bed time!” he announced. Teddy groaned and made himself floppy on the sofa, as Charlie stood up, pouting.

“But we never called mom!” she protested.

“You know mom is busy on Wednesdays, sweetie. Stop arguing and go put on your PJs.” Charlie huffed but went up the stairs as Steve poked Teddy in the side, who giggled and curled up in a ball, allowing himself to be picked up.

Bucky tried his best not to smile at the way Steve picked up the child and threw him, giggling, over his shoulder before carrying him up the stairs in a fireman’s hold. There was more giggling and laughter as Steve helped the children settle into bed, and then the familiar muffled tones of bedtime stories being read. 

Bucky took a seat at the table in the kitchen and pulled out a notebook, writing some notes detailing what he had noticed over the afternoon. He had once been quite awkward in other people’s homes, and there was still an odd feeling of tension in the air on most first days, but it was something he had gotten used to over the years.

He was just beginning to draft a plan of action for what he could do to help Steve, when he heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs. Steve paused outside the living room and then Bucky heard him enter the kitchen. He looked up and saw Steve hovering in the doorway, arms crossed and visibly uncomfortable. 

Bucky whipped out his well-worn reassuring smile and gestured for Steve to sit. He didn’t say anything until Steve was settled, tapping an erratic rhythm on the table. Bucky closed his notebook and made careful eye contact.

“I know this is weird, having a stranger in your home, watching you.” Steve finally cracked a smile, and it was only then that Bucky realised that this was the first smile he had seen on the man’s face all day. 

“You aren’t wrong.” Steve shrugged his reply, and broke eye contact, looking intently at his hands. “So what’s the verdict?” he asked nervously.

“First things first, I just want to reiterate what I’m sure you have been told before,” Bucky nudged him slightly so he would look up again. “You are a great dad.” Steve’s eyebrows knitted together, and he sighed. Bucky continued,

“You’re just tired, and overwhelmed. From what I’ve gathered, this is all fairly new, the single-parent thing?” Steve nodded before answering.

“Yeah, it is. I mean, Peggy and I— That’s not new, we separated not long after Rosie was born, but, well... she was still here, and we shared custody, so it wasn’t quite so difficult. I had my weeks off to catch up on work or clean the house, but now—”

“Now it feels like you need to be in all places at all times, and no matter what you do it isn’t enough?” Steve let out a heavy breath and made a gesture of agreement. “Yeah, I’ve been there. And you have three times as many children to look after as I did, so…” Bucky trailed off as Steve looked at him, expression questioning. 

He didn’t usually talk about his own life with clients, especially not this early in the job, but it was out there now. He clarified as much as he was willing to, and changed the subject quickly, diverting back to Steve. “I raised my sister, for a while. It’s okay to be overwhelmed. And I’m here to help you adjust.” 

Steve nodded, biting his lip gently. “Thanks. That really does mean a lot.”

After that, Bucky regained his easy footing and gestured to his notebook.

“I just want to go through my first observations,” he began. “These notes are based on what I saw today, what I think will work for you. Please don’t think any of this is a judgement, and feel free to ask questions if there’s anything that’s unclear.” Steve nodded, and Bucky began his feedback. It didn’t take long, he hadn’t really seen enough yet to have a full grasp of the situation, but there was something there.

Steve was receptive to his comments, and Bucky was relieved to see that there wasn’t too much defensiveness. That was often an issue, especially with fathers. Nobody liked to be told they were making mistakes, or feeling they were letting down their children. From what Bucky had seen of Steve Rogers so far, however, he had the feeling that nothing he was saying was particularly bad in comparison to what the man thought about himself. Bucky was pretty confident that the main thing to work on here would be Steve’s confidence, but in his experience, that was often much more difficult than a more surface level lack of parenting skills.

When he finished, Steve smiled again.

“Thank you, again. Is there anything you need to ask me?” Bucky shrugged. 

“I’d like to do another session of just observing, maybe look at the morning and daytime routine this time? I understand you work from home, so I want to make sure I take into account your full day before I start making suggestions or changes.”

“That’s perfect. Do you want to come by tomorrow? We generally get up around six thirty or seven, and leave for school at eight.” Bucky nodded and jotted that down, checking the schedule he kept on his phone.

“Sounds good to me. Do Charlie or Teddy do any after school activities?” Steve replied off the top of his head; soccer and dance for Charlie and music lessons for Teddy. Bucky made note of those too and closed his book, before putting it away in his bag.

They stood from the table and Steve walked him to the door, reaching out to shake his hand on the threshold. Bucky shook with a friendly smile. 

“Goodnight, Steve. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bright and early,” Steve smiled again, and this time it actually reached his eyes, making Bucky blink in surprise. He was once again caught off guard as he made his way back down the drive to his car. 

He sat in the driver’s seat for a few moments, taking a deep breath before he started the car and pulled away. 

A glance in the rearview showed that Steve was still standing on his porch as he drove down the street. Bucky felt a frown pull at his face as he made his way home for the night. He had let his mask slip today, for the first time in years. He couldn’t let that happen again, no matter how pretty those eyes were.

He would need to be seriously careful about professionalism, especially since this job was going to be longer. The mask Bucky wore at work was difficult to maintain at the best of times, and he was usually drained by it at the end of a job. If he was already slipping on day one, he didn’t like to think what he would be like by the end of the month.

Alpine seemed to be feeling affectionate this evening, so she curled up by his side as he heated up something to eat and settled down to relax and prepare for the following morning. He did the math in his head, wanting to give them time to wake up before he arrived, but not wanting to miss too much of the morning routine. 

He set an alarm for when he ought to leave, and when he should ideally get up. It was early. No long movies after getting home on this job, he supposed.

He got himself into bed for ten pm, preparing himself for a month of no social life. He snickered as he turned out the lights. As if he had anything resembling a social life beyond his sister and the Odinsons in a normal month.

~*~*~

Steve stood in his doorway, deep in thought as he watched Bucky drive away. He took a deep breath. The whole evening he had been on edge, second guessing every decision he made. Where he normally would have tried to get some work done between homework and dinner, he had hovered, doing cleaning that hadn’t even really needed to be done. When Teddy had acted up about homework, Steve had felt deeply ashamed of his inability to rectify the situation without effectively doing the work himself.

He ran his hand through his hair, only then finding the chunk of congealed cheese which must have been there since before the visit. He swore quietly under his breath and shivered in a sudden breeze, going back inside.

It was only nine in the evening, and Steve was exhausted, but he had gotten almost no work done during the day, so he went into his office and started trying to finish a few sketches. As he worked, his mind kept wandering back over the day. He had been so sure he would be judged for everything he did, but Bucky had actually seemed to think he was doing well, all things considered. Sure, that was essentially what his friends had already told him — numerous times in fact — but it was different coming from a stranger — a professional. Bucky felt he was a good dad. He could work things out. 

There were problems, that much went without saying. The things Bucky had mentioned were things Steve recognised, of course, and he felt guilty that they were so easily identifiable and yet he hadn’t been able to fix them alone. He shook his head to rid himself of that kind of thought. It wasn’t productive, and it wouldn’t help.

He turned his attention to the next day, trying to predict what Bucky would think of his morning routine.  _ Routine _ was probably being generous, he reflected, as school mornings were generally a wild rush to get everyone out the door and to school without forgetting anything, or letting anyone leave without eating. And tomorrow, he would be watched, examined and analysed, which would just make it all the more nerve-wracking.

He couldn’t get a read on Bucky, which was odd, because Steve prided himself on his ability to read people. At first, Bucky had seemed distant; warm but professional. But then he had caught a glimpse of softness in his expression while they had been watching cartoons, quickly masked as soon as he became aware of Steve’s gaze on him. Then there was the comment about his sister. Steve was intrigued, to say the least, but he didn’t want to appear nosy.

Steve blinked and focused on his work properly. It was a mess, the main character deviating from the description he had been given, hair slightly darker and jawline harder than it should have been, and he huffed out a breath as he went back over it, trying to make it work.

It was late by the time he reached a place where he was happy with the sketch, and he stood, stretching and wincing at the way his back strained, before clearing away his supplies and leaving the office. 

He lay in bed, watching the ceiling but unable to find sleep. A glance at his phone showed that it was just after midnight, and he did some math in his head before opening his messaging app. It would be a bit early, but he remembered that she had always been an early riser. He typed out a message and pressed send, closing his eyes while he waited.

The sound of his ringtone caught him by surprise. He smiled as he answered.

“Hey, Peg.”

“Steve, to what do I owe the honour of a late night call? It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Hope I didn’t wake you up?”

“Five minutes after my alarm. I was just making my tea.” He hummed, and paused. He didn’t really know what to say now.

“Steve? What’s wrong?” He sat up properly on the edge of his bed, and realised why he had reached out. She had a right to know, after all.

“I just... I needed to tell you something, before it goes any further.” 

“Mm-hm.” He had known Peggy long enough that even without words, Steve could interpret her tone. She was curious, but trying to sound casual. Steve had a feeling she had a few ideas as to what he was going to tell her, but she was going to make him say it anyway.

“You know how I’ve been… struggling a little, lately?” He winced as he said it. He hated the idea that she may think he wasn’t doing a good job, that she would regret her decision and look to move the children to London with her.

“It’s a tough job, parenting.” Her response was cryptic, but Steve wasn’t unused to that. He plowed on, getting to the point before he could chicken out.

“It’s been tough, and the guys — well, Tony mostly — thought it would be good for me to get some help. He hired a—” He trailed off, unsure what to refer to Bucky as.

“A nanny?” asked Peggy.

“Not quite,” mused Steve. “More a consultant, but he does call himself Supermanny.” Steve felt himself smile at the name as he said it, more ridiculous spoken aloud than it was read on a screen, but he found it endearing. Peggy’s sharp huff of laughter told him he wasn’t the only one who found it ridiculous. “He helps parents who are overwhelmed, or struggling.”

“And you worried that I would be angry that you needed help?” Steve shrugged, making a noncommittal noise. She had always seen right through him.

“Steve, I had hoped this went without saying, but I have a feeling that you need to hear it. I would not have had children with you if I didn’t feel you were capable of raising them well. Needing help with that is not something to be ashamed of. The fact you’re accepting the help means more than anything else.” Steve hummed, but couldn’t bring himself to say anything to that. Peggy continued:

“I know it’s difficult. I miss the children every day, but I am fully aware that out of the two of us, your job is the more difficult one. I get to be the fun mum, who takes them on holiday and treats them on Birthdays and Christmas. I rarely, if ever, have to negotiate homework or dentist appointments or the daily struggles. I say you should take whatever help you can get.”

“Thanks, Peg. I did need to hear that.”

“I thought you would. Now get some sleep. Can’t have you falling asleep during the school rush while being watched by a handsome stranger now, can we?” Steve laughed.

“Yeah, you’re right, I—” He paused. “Wait, how do you know he’s handsome?” Peggy’s laugh echoed down the line.

“We have google in England too, you know. And parenting blogs.” She paused, before adding on; “Besides, I notice you didn’t disagree with me.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah alright. I’m going to sleep, just to avoid this conversation.” He hung up before she could respond, cutting her off mid-chuckle.

He plugged in his phone, double checking his alarm, and fell asleep thinking how grateful he was that he could still talk to Peggy, that they could still be close after all they had gone through. Even if he did wish she would stop trying to needle into his love life from across the Atlantic.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Six here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-6)


	7. Chapter 7

The morning dawned bright and cheerful, but Steve was tired. Again. He managed to only hit snooze once, which he was mentally praising himself for as he set to making sandwiches for lunch boxes before the kids got up. He made a pot of coffee before calling the kids for the first time. By the time the doorbell rang, he was halfway through his first coffee and feeling slightly more human than he had on waking up.

The man on the doorstep, however, had no right to look so put together this early in the morning; hair styled perfectly and dressed in a neatly pressed shirt and slacks. Steve glanced down at his own ratty sweatpants and stained t-shirt which he had pulled on as he rolled out of bed and winced to himself as he welcomed him in.

“Trust me, I’ve seen worse,” came a wry comment from Bucky, and Steve raised a questioning eyebrow. Bucky just shook his head with an expression that told Steve he didn’t want to know, and he huffed a laugh, shaking his head as he went back into the kitchen, pulling out cereal and calling up to the kids again.

He drained his coffee then and poured another mug. 

“Do you want a cup?” he asked, gesturing to the pot. Bucky just shrugged.

“Go on then, I can never say no to extra caffeine in the morning.” Steve poured coffee into a second mug and asked about milk and sugar, but Bucky shook his head and inhaled the steam eagerly as the mug was handed over. 

“You don’t look like the kind of person who needs extra caffeine,” Steve commented - though it sounded more like a question as he said it.

Before an answer came, though, they heard the sound of someone running down the stairs. Charlie came into the room, thankfully fully dressed, and Steve almost missed Bucky’s raised eyebrow in his direction. Charlie’s expression flickered between them as she took in the sight.

“You’re still here?” Bucky nodded, eyes flickering to Steve and back to her, giving her a smile that was clearly reserved for children.

“He just arrived back. Remember sweetie, Bucky is here for a few weeks to help me out?” Steve prompted. Charlie seemed to examine Bucky further, eyes narrowed before seeming to accept the situation and changing the subject.

“Teddy’s still in bed.” She sat down at the table, pouring herself a large bowl of cheerios and dousing them in milk without a further word. Steve sighed and stood up. He left the kitchen and went to Teddy’s door, knocking and calling his name only to be met with nothing but a muffled moan. Steve opened the door and peeked into the room, which, true to Charlie’s word, still had the lights off. 

Steve flicked the switch on and went in, tapping Teddy on the shoulder. He just burrowed further into his blankets with a whine.

“Come on buddy, gotta get ready for school!” Steve paused for a reaction before sighing and tugging at the blanket. Teddy looked at him, betrayal evident on his sleep-mussed face as it was exposed to the open air. Steve chuckled at the sight and pulled the blanket off altogether. 

“Nooooo, dad, I’m still sleepy!”

“Come on!” Steve gave a gentle tickle to his side until he started wriggling and eventually woke up enough to attempt to tickle back. Steve dodged the little hands and picked his son up, throwing him over his shoulder and turning to carry him into the bathroom, pausing briefly as he spotted Bucky watching from the doorway. 

Being observed like that was definitely going to take some getting used to, and the guy was quiet. Steve would be the first to admit that his hearing wasn’t the best, but he was generally able to hear if someone was in the same room as him. Still though, he hadn’t heard Bucky following him up the stairs; the guy must have the quietest footsteps imaginable.

They exchanged a small smile, and Steve carried on, depositing Teddy at the door to the bathroom before going back down to check on Charlie. She was just finishing her Cheerios when they entered the kitchen, and she jumped up when they walked in.

“Could you braid my hair today please, daddy?” Steve shrugged. It generally took a while, but maybe if Rosie stayed asleep -- A cry from upstairs interrupted his thoughts. He checked the time. By the time he had Rosie calmed down, and gotten Teddy fed, they would be cutting it tight.

“I gotta get Rosie, but if she calms down quickly then I will, alright?” Charlie looked disappointed, but she nodded and sat back down at the table, waiting patiently. Steve ruffled her hair and gave her a small smile as he thanked her before going back up to the bedrooms and getting Rosie up. Teddy was shuffling back to his room, and Steve remembered that he hadn’t laid out clothes for him the night before. 

He got Rosie up and dressed before checking on Teddy, who had taken advantage of the freedom to dress himself in swim shorts and a dress shirt --which he had buttoned up incorrectly -- all topped off with a pair of fluffy socks and snow boots. Steve sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. He called out to Charlie, who bounded up the stairs, followed by Bucky.

“Baby, I have to get Teddy changed, so we don’t have time for braids. Will a ponytail be okay for today? You can pick out a pretty bow?” Her face fell but she nodded and went into her room to look for one. Steve managed to coerce Teddy into something more school appropriate -- a pair of jeans and a t-shirt -- after only a minor argument, before going back to check on Charlie and tie up her hair.

She sat in the kitchen, and Steve blinked in disbelief to see her hair had been braided neatly and tied off with little green ribbons. Steve was generally able to stumble through simple braids, though it took a few tries most of the time, but these were flawless, french braids with not a hair out of place. Charlie beamed at him.

“Mr. Bucky said he could do fancy braids and he did them so quick, aren’t they pretty!” She turned to show off her braids, and Steve smiled fondly, agreeing wholeheartedly with their prettiness. Steve poured Teddy a bowl of cereal, which he began to shovel into his mouth. Charlie skipped out of the room, braids bouncing behind her as she went to put her lunch in her bag and put on her coat.

Steve turned his attention to Bucky, who stood bashfully at the table.

“I hope you don’t mind, I mean I know that’s not really my place, but she seemed really disappointed and she asked if I was able to braid hair, and I just-” Steve cut him off as he rambled.

“It’s fine, Bucky. More than fine, really. Though I have a feeling she will never accept my meagre hairstyling skills again, as long as you’re here.” Bucky laughed, and if Steve didn’t know better he would say that the man was blushing ever so slightly. 

“Well, I had to learn when I got Becca, and I used to have pretty long hair myself for a while, so I picked up a few tricks.” Steve squinted, trying to picture him with long hair, and he had to admit it wasn’t a bad image. Then his brain caught on to the Becca comment, and Steve found himself wondering again just what Bucky’s story was. One look at his face told him that Bucky didn’t invite questions, though, so he let it go.

“Well, thanks, man. That was a huge help, and like you said it isn’t your job. You didn’t have to do that. I wouldn’t mind a few pointers though, I know she’d love it if I could do her hair prettier in the mornings” Bucky agreed, though he looked conflicted. Steve wanted to apologise for overstepping, but just then Rosie decided to remind him that she was still there by half patting, half slapping him on the cheek.

“Whoops! Gotta get you fed too, don’t we?” He put some bread in the toaster and got out the butter, then began tidying away Charlie’s breakfast things. The toast popped and he buttered it, handing it to Rosie as Teddy finished his breakfast and went to brush his teeth, thankfully without protest today.

Five minutes later, Rosie was still munching on her toast, but it was time to leave, so Steve buckled her into the car as she ate. Teddy and Charlie followed out when called, and they made their way to school with little difficulty. 

When Steve got home with Rosie, he finally found the time to get himself dressed and showered properly. He had hesitated briefly in the bathroom - usually, when it was just him and Rosie, he left the door open a crack, in case she fussed. Bucky seemed to notice the hesitation, and waved him off, gesturing that he would be able to watch her. 

Steve came back downstairs dressed slightly better - though he still hadn’t been able to bring himself to wear jeans, at least the sweatpants he had on were definitely clean this time. Rosie ran to him on her little legs and he scooped her up.

“So what do you generally do during school?” Bucky asked, and Steve thought about it, running through his scattered mental list before replying.

“Usually I get some breakfast for myself, then some laundry or cleaning, depending on what needs doing. Rosie naps around noon, so that’s my best time for working. Once she wakes up, we have lunch, then I either work while she plays until pick-up, or go for groceries. Depends on the day, really, and what sort of mood she’s in.”

Bucky nodded and jotted something down, looking thoughtful as he did so.

“Right, I’ll let you keep going as you normally would for the day, try to stay out of your hair while you work.” Steve inhaled and went back to his daily routine, or as near to one as he could, once again trying to ignore the eyes which seemed to follow him as he balanced watching Rosie with doing laundry.

Around noon, she started to fuss, so Steve put her down for her nap and slipped into his office. He inhaled deeply, relieved to be on his own, without the constant awareness of being watched. He still wasn’t as productive as he usually was during this hour, mind wandering to what Bucky may be doing outside the door. Steve wondered when the man ate. He hadn’t joined them for dinner the previous day, but he wondered if he would want lunch with them today. He made a note to ask when Rosie woke up. He had plenty to go around, after all.

By the time Rosie’s familiar waking up sounds came from the monitor, Steve had regained a sense of composure about the situation, and was back to his usual self when he emerged and brought her down to eat.

Bucky was putting away what looked like a lunch box when he walked into the kitchen. That answered that question, then. 

The rest of the day progressed much the same as before, though Bucky didn’t stay quite as long after bed time, not needing to do a full debrief.

“From here on out, I’ll be here for full days, not counting weekends, and we’ll be trying out some different routines and some rewards systems, okay?” Steve nodded, he had read enough of Bucky’s blog to know the kind of things he usually did with families that he worked with.

“Sure thing. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Bright and early.” They both smiled at that, and Steve watched him leave, wondering how much things were going to change. He squared his shoulders before going back inside. He would need to suck up any discomfort he had over having someone new in the house. He was doing this for the kids, and it wouldn’t work unless he invested one hundred percent. 

The house was silent as Steve went straight into his studio to get some work down. 

This would work. It had to.

~*~*~

Bucky sat at home after his second day on the job eating reheated takeout. His diet always took a nosedive during weeks he spent with families. The first few days were okay; they were shorter so he could eat before he left the house and when he got home. Sometimes, like today, he found an hour or so when the parents were out to eat a sandwich he brought with him. Usually, there was a good portion of the day when kids were in school and parents were at work where Bucky was essentially free to do as he pleased.

It had been a while since Bucky had worked with a family with a stay-at-home parent, though, and he knew he would need to make sure to eat a good breakfast and find time to eat when he could without seeming unprofessional. 

After he ate, Bucky quickly turned his attention to the notebook he had selected for this job. After two days with the Rogers', he had already accumulated quite an extensive set of notes. Steve had seemed slightly on edge, but that was to be expected, and Bucky was reasonably impressed with how much he had managed to proceed as usual, despite Bucky’s presence.

Bucky read through his notes, marking certain points which seemed most pressing, and then turned to his laptop to draft a schedule which they could begin to follow. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be a starting point, and the more time they worked, the clearer the path would become.

Or at least, that’s the way it usually worked out. He could only hope it would be the same this time, because the expression on Steve’s face when he had been debriefing had really made him want to help them.

Only once he had taken care of business did he stop to reflect on his own thoughts about the last few days. He was, weirdly, comfortable with the Rogers family. In fact, more than once he had to remind himself not to get overly involved. He had been halfway through braiding Charlie’s hair this morning before he realised that might not be something Steve was comfortable with him doing, and he hardly even hesitated before offering to watch Rosie while Steve showered. 

Well, he did like to spend some time getting to know the kids he worked with, he rationalised to himself. Sure, it was usually later on in the process, after the initial observation, but it didn’t really make much of a difference. He was just giving himself a bit of a head start, never mind that a head start wasn’t really necessary here, given that this was the longest contract he had ever had. 

Bucky’s mind was a whirlwind of thought as he got ready for bed that night, images of blonde and brunette children, blue eyes and gentle laughter mingling with vague ideas and suggestions he wanted to put forward running around his head until he eventually dozed off into a fretful sleep.

His alarm woke him up early the following morning, and he groggily turned it off and sat up in bed. He practically inhaled his coffee, smiling at the memory of Steve’s assumption that he was a morning person. If only he knew what a nightmare Bucky could be if he didn’t have somewhere he needed to be. He put in the effort to look perky with clients, but the truth was, on mornings that he wasn’t working with a family, it was lucky if he even put on pants before noon. 

He was dressed and out the door within fifteen minutes, munching on a toasted bagel as he drove the increasingly familiar route to the house. The morning went fairly similar to the previous one, though he noticed Steve seemed to have made an effort to be dressed before he arrived this morning, and he didn’t hesitate before pouring an extra cup of black coffee, placing it in front of Bucky with a shadow of a wink. Bucky drank it gratefully, and let the morning unfold around him, noting anything which seemed different from yesterday.

Charlie didn’t ask for braids today, though Bucky noticed her glance in his direction a few times, as though considering whether she should try her luck. Teddy got up easily this morning, and it seemed that there would be no issues, until Rosie began to cry when Steve gave her her toast.

“NO BUTTER.”

“But you like butter, Rosie.”

“No. Yellow!”

It took a few tries for Steve to figure out that she had decided she didn’t like unmelted butter on her toast, and he sighed as he toasted more bread, buttering it more quickly so all the butter melted in. She kept crying, however, even as she ate, and Steve grew increasingly harried until he managed to get them all out the door for school.

She had calmed down by the time they got home, however, and Bucky watched as Steve wiped down the countertops while munching on the cold, soggy toast with unmelted butter. 

“So, Steve,” Bucky began, once the kitchen was clean and Rosie was playing with a toy car cheerfully. Steve looked up at him and nodded, sighing and sitting down opposite him. He looked like a child waiting outside the principal’s office, and Bucky suppressed a smile at the image.

“We need to work out a plan, okay? We’ll start simple enough, and add elements as they begin to work out.” Bucky glanced down at his notebook, checking the details, before taking a breath. “I just need to clarify a few things first, and then we can really get down to it.” Steve nodded and gestured for him to proceed.

“Alright, so I know you work from home, and you have an office?”

“That’s right.” 

“How long do you work each day?” Steve looked thoughtful for a moment before he responded.

“I generally get a lot done while Rosie naps,” he began. “About an hour, then. It was easier when she was smaller.” He laughed a little. “Funny, I had expected it to be the opposite, but…” He shrugged, and Bucky nodded in understanding, before gesturing for Steve to continue.

“Sometimes I can get another hour or two before the school pickup if Rosie is happy to play by herself, especially if there aren’t any urgent chores to finish. And then sometimes I get another little bit done after the kids are asleep.” Bucky nodded, that was about what he had expected. “If I have a deadline, though, I do usually need to get up earlier to work before anyone else wakes up.”

“How early would that be?”

“About three, four a.m.? Depends on how much I need to do.” Bucky raised an eyebrow at that. Steve looked tired enough as it was, and Bucky would hate to see how difficult it was for him working on even less sleep. He said as much and Steve just shrugged in reply.

“I do what I have to do. I can handle it.” Bucky had encountered this attitude more than once, had even been there once himself. He met Steve’s eyes, and injected all the empathy he could muster into the look.

“I know you can. The thing is, you don’t have to.” Steve’s expression was hard to read, but he broke the eye contact and stood, going to turn on the kettle. “There are things we can do to make it easier.” Steve leaned against the countertop as the kettle began to boil, but he was quiet until it whistled. 

Bucky accepted the tea as it was offered and waited for Steve to break the silence, which he did, but only when the tea had been fully brewed and he had sat back down.

“What do you suggest?” Bucky let himself smile as he set down his mug.

“Well, the main thing is routine.” Steve nodded at this.

“Right, I try to make sure they have a steady routine most days, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to do more.” 

“Not just for the kids, Steve. You need one too, or you  _ will _ burn out. They need you at your best, and that means you need to be rested.”

“But, how..?”

“We’ll work on it. Have you ever considered a sitter during the day?” Steve shook his head abruptly.

“No. That’s why I stay home, so I’m here for Rosie.” Bucky nodded, this wasn’t an uncommon response.

“Right, well, we’ll work around it. I’ll draw up a schedule so that we can try it for the next few days, alright? And I want you to give me feedback as we go, on what does and doesn’t work for you.” Steve nodded and Bucky continued with his notes.

“The next thing is housework. You seem to be doing relatively well in that area.” Steve looked surprised as he glanced around at the kitchen before he raised an eyebrow at Bucky. “Well, it’s not like any house with children is ever going to be spotless, but I’ve seen two-parent households with fewer children struggle a lot more than you are, at least in that area.” 

Steve sipped his tea, and Bucky could have sworn there was a faint blush on his cheeks at the compliment. It was probably just the steam, he rationalised.

“There’s always room for improvement,” he continued, “and I think a little responsibility would be beneficial, especially for Charlie and Teddy. There’s plenty of chores they will be able to do at their ages, which will actually take a lot of the pressure off of you in the long run.”

Their conversation continued until the tea was gone and Rosie made her way back to them and climbed into Steve’s lap. They set out a plan, and Bucky was confident it would work. Steve was very open to the idea of a chore chart, and enthusiastically supported the target-based reward system, suggesting some ideas for small and big rewards which his children would like, but which wouldn’t break the bank.

As Steve carried Rosie out for her nap, Bucky realised that this job would be very unlikely to need more than the single week they had decided to begin with. The niggling disappointment at that thought was surely due to the fact that he wouldn’t be getting paid for a full month’s work, he tried to reason. But hey, maybe he could drag it out. After all, though the kids would be alright, Steve himself seemed fairly stubborn, and Bucky was pretty sure he would take longer than a week to adapt to a routine.

He had about an hour to himself while Rosie napped and Steve worked, so Bucky took his laptop from his bag and worked out a rudimentary daily household schedule. He tried to include time for Steve to unwind, along with time for him to spend with the children without any distractions, but it was difficult.

If he wanted to give Steve anything resembling a healthy sleeping pattern, not to mention keeping the house tidy, then there were really only about four hours which could be allocated to work in the day. For at least one of those, he would have to work with a two year old vying for his attention.

It was far from ideal, but it was as good as he could work for the time being.

By the time he had decided on a coherent color scheme for the schedule, Steve had joined him in the kitchen, a sleepy-faced toddler in his arms. He held her on his hip as he moved about the kitchen, taking out bread and a full tupperware container.

Bucky closed his laptop and tidied away his notebook, realising he had been so caught up in planning he had not thought to eat.

“Hey, do you want some soup?” Steve asked, taking him by surprise. It must have shown on his face, because Steve began to backtrack. “I mean, if you -- I just, we have plenty and I don’t know if you ate already, or…” Bucky schooled his face back into a professional smile, and shrugged.

“I mean, if you have extra, I wouldn’t say no.” This must have been what Steve was hoping to hear, because his relief was clear.

“Great! I really hate eating when someone is just sitting there with nothing in front of them.” His expression was slightly sheepish and Bucky fought back the instinct in his brain which tried to think of it as cute.

The soup was heated, and bread laid out, alongside plenty of butter. Steve served up two large bowls, and one smaller for Rosie. Bucky ate in silence, watching how Steve attempted to alternate giving a spoonful to Rosie with feeding himself. Bucky noticed how quickly he finished his own bowl compared to Steve. It was good soup, some sort of vegetable, but he wondered whether Steve actually got a chance to taste it in the rushed spoonfuls he managed to eat.

Rosie fussed a little while being fed, and both she and Steve wound up with slightly orange-stained clothes. Once the soup was all consumed, Steve left the dishes on the sideboard, and Bucky followed his lead with his own bowl.

Steve glanced down at himself and wrinkled his nose.

“I’m just gonna…” Steve gestured at himself, and Bucky nodded in understanding. Steve picked up Rosie, who proceeded to spear her own soupy hands over the remaining clean patches of Steve’s shirt. Bucky attempted to stifle a giggle at the exasperated expression on his face, but from the glare that was sent his direction, he assumed it hadn’t been successful.

Steve carried Rosie up the stairs, and Bucky heard water running, accompanied by the sound of gentle humming. He turned his attention to the house, combining a mental list of general chores into his head, and dividing them according to what he knew to be suitable for children of different ages.

When the older children were home from school, Bucky braced himself and sat them all down in the living room. He stood in front of them and cast his eye over the scene. Teddy sat on the sofa, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he was sprawling on the sofa. He had one foot over the arm of the chair, the other resting on the back, with his head hanging off the seat. Charlie was sitting cross-legged on an armchair, chin in her hands and looking thoroughly bored. Steve was on the sofa, in the space left over from Teddy, holding Rosie who was attempting to writhe her way down onto the floor in order to run off and play. His attention was mainly focused on Bucky, however.

Bucky took a deep breath, and began his pitch.

He outlined the different chores, which were received by the children about as well as could be expected, but they had perked up at the mention of rewards in exchange. Each chore had a point value, and each reward could be redeemed for a given number of points. Charlie was full of questions about whether she could get a reward for something that wasn’t on the list, or if they could trade chores if they wanted.

Teddy, meanwhile, was more interested in whether he had to do all the different chores on his list, or if he could just dust the cabinets over and over and get the same points. 

Eventually, though, they had worked it out, and Bucky set to work with Steve to begin implementing the routines. The first couple of days were rocky, but they soon found their rhythm. By the end of that first week, Bucky realised that he and Steve were working together like a well-oiled machine.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Seven here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-7)


	8. Chapter 8

After the first couple of days Bucky was with them, Steve began to grow used to having him around. The days passed in a flurry and the longer he spent with the routine Bucky had outlined, the better he became at following it and the more naturally it came to him — particularly after they had altered it once or twice to better fit him. He began to notice a change in the children, too. Charlie opened up more, and Teddy actually started doing as he was told without needing to be told a dozen times. Rosie was still a handful, but he figured that that just came with the territory for a two year old, and it was so much more manageable now that he had strategies to handle it.

It had taken time to get to this point, though. He thought back to the first day of “active intervention” as Bucky had called it. 

He had been holding Rosie while the other two children reclined lazily, hardly paying attention until they realised the implications of what Bucky was telling them.

“I have to do _laundry_?”

“What do you _mean_ no screens until after dinner?”

“This is so unfair! I never had to do that before! Why do I have to now?”

Steve had marvelled at the way Bucky had spoken to them, never condescending, but open and honest, until they had agreed — admittedly rather grumpily — to give it a try.

The first trial was, well... bumpy, to say the least.

Bucky had emphasised to him the importance of modelling, or demonstrating, the chores he expected the children to do, rather than simply expecting they would know how to do them. Somehow, this had resulted in Teddy leaning back on the sofa and dictating to Steve which part of the room to straighten up next until Steve had grown impatient and yelled at him to pay attention and help.

He had been embarrassed by his outburst, until Bucky placed a reassuring hand on his arm and asked him to try again later, once both he and Teddy had calmed down.

Charlie had been a little easier. She had, at least, seemed eager to watch him vacuum and fold laundry while he demonstrated, but it became more difficult once she attempted them on her own. 

Steve was far from a perfectionist, but he felt himself reaching out to correct the way she folded a shirt, or a sweater. She became increasingly impatient with him, and her irritation grew until she threw down the shorts she was folding and stormed off, shouting for him to just do it himself if he was going to be so annoying.

By the end of that first day, Steve was even more tired than he had been before Bucky had arrived, and as he came down the stairs after bedtime, he felt the last remaining energy he had leave his body and float away. He flopped down right there on the stairs, letting his head hang down between his knees.

He felt rather than heard the person come to sit tentatively next to him, and looked up into Bucky’s eyes.

“Let me guess: You’re about five minutes from telling me to leave, and that my system is garbage which will never work?”

Steve sat up properly and huffed something which he hoped passed as a laugh.

“I mean, not in so many words, but. Are you sure this is going to work? Because I really don’t think I can take it if this is all for nothing.”

Bucky nodded, and looked deep in thought before responding. Steve noticed that he raised a hand, as though to place it comfortingly on Steve’s back or shoulder, but instead ran it through his own carefully styled hair, setting some of the curls loose from the product which usually held them tight.

“I can’t make promises that it will work. Every family is different. Whether or not it works just depends on whether or not you work with me. But, for what it’s worth, I think it will. Today wasn’t perfect—” Steve laughed humorlessly, but Bucky continued. “—It was far from perfect, but that’s fine. It was the first day, and nobody gets everything right the first day.” He stood, and visibly hesitated before offering out a hand to Steve. 

Steve allowed himself to be helped up ( _Take that, Sam!_ he thought sarcastically, _I can accept help sometimes_ ), and followed Bucky into the living room where the schedule now hung above the sofa. Bucky looked from the schedule to him, and reassured him that it would get easier.

And it had.

~*~*~

Bucky took pride in how quickly they fell into an easy dynamic. He guided Steve when he encountered a sticky situation, and they exchanged knowing looks when Teddy was being cheeky or Charlie made a particularly valid argument for why cleaning her room actually deserved double points, considering that it was bigger than Teddy’s.

He also found himself staying a little later, initially to just give feedback or answer some questions that Steve asked, but then he found himself finding excuses to stay, his own apartment feeling quieter and less appealing with each passing day.

One morning, he arrived to see Steve looking particularly dishevelled, a smudge of red paint on the side of his nose, and Bucky realised he must have gotten up early to work. By lunchtime, Bucky knew the man was barely managing to stay awake, so he decided to prioritise his well being over sticking to his usual guidelines. 

He practically forced Steve to take a nap, watching Rosie and starting the load of laundry which had been Steve’s argument to stay up for the rest of the day. He emerged an hour later, looking rumpled but much more alert than he had earlier. Bucky greeted him with a mug of coffee, which Steve accepted gratefully.

Bucky didn’t stay late that night, giving Steve a look after the children were in bed and pointing towards Steve’s own room. He felt a little odd on the way home, worried that he had overstepped by interfering in Steve’s personal habits, but he forced himself not to dwell on it, giving Alpine the attention she craved after being left alone for so long.

He needn’t have worried anyway, as Steve greeted him enthusiastically the following morning, and thanked him for taking care of things. Bucky felt a slight flutter at Steve’s genuine expression of thanks, and flushed slightly before he could stop himself. 

From that point onwards, Bucky felt himself dropping his professional mask more and more often in spite of himself.

One evening, during the second week, he and Steve sat “debriefing” for the day over a cup of tea, and they found themselves laughing over something Charlie had said.

“I swear, she is exactly like Becs was at her age. You’ve got your work cut out for ya there, Rogers.” He didn’t realise what he had said until he caught Steve giving him that look he had become so well acquainted with, all big curious eyes and soft smile. 

“Becs is your sister?” Bucky took a deep breath, and decided to just tell him. He had to be curious, and Bucky figured he had crossed enough lines by now that one more couldn’t really hurt.

“Yeah, she… My folks died, when she was only Charlie’s age. I was twenty, in college out of state, so I had to move home. It was tough, but we got through it.” He felt himself go still. He wasn’t sure why he was upset now, more than a decade later. He had told the story plenty of times before now, but maybe it was Steve’s expression, full of sympathy and something else unidentifiable. 

Bucky tried to get himself back under control, but then he felt Steve’s hand come to rest on his arm, and he looked up.

“I’m so sorry, Buck. That had to have been rough. I lost my ma a few years ago. Charlie remembers her some, but Teddy was too young, and that was before Rosie. I couldn’t imagine.” Steve seemed to choke up. “If something were to happen to Pegs and I… Becca was lucky to have had you.” Bucky felt the tears prickle at his eyes at that, and he couldn’t bring himself to reply. 

But Steve remained with him in silence, his hand a comforting weight on his arm. Bucky smiled at him gratefully as he left, almost half an hour later. 

~*~*~

Two weeks had passed, and Steve was now able to get through a day without feeling like he was going to mess up any minute, and when he had a problem, Bucky was there to support him.

Steve found himself looking forward to bedtime, not for the peace and quiet, or the opportunity to work, but for the time he and Bucky had begun to spend together. Over time, Bucky began to open up to him more, and Steve recognised the apparent rarity in this. Bucky had an air of someone who didn’t open up to others, and Steve had noticed the difference in his face from the first day to now. He had been visibly uncomfortable whenever conversation veered towards anything about himself beyond the professional at first, so when he began to share details of his life, Steve was enraptured.

When Bucky started to speak about his family Steve had felt the tension in the air. He hadn’t expected Bucky to open up like that, and from that point on, something palpable changed between them.

Steve had wanted to share something in return, so he told Bucky about his mom, and to his surprise it had actually come easily, and Bucky had seemed to understand. The following day, he found himself telling Bucky about the rest of his family, the ones back in Ireland he hadn’t met until he was well into his teens, and who he tried to visit when he could.

“Oh, my grandma, she’s an absolute hoot! My grandpa was a farmer, and she has all these stories about my parents when they were kids, before they moved over here. I have a bunch of cousins there too, and they all got together for a week a couple of years back. It was crazy, I grew up as an only child, never had any aunts or uncles around, and then suddenly I have an extended family of thirty-plus cousins — I swear, I almost lost count of them! You’d love them, Buck, they wouldn’t let me work at all, insisted I do nothing but catch up and play with the kids.” Steve cringed slightly and changed the subject, hoping Bucky wouldn’t be too put out at the overly-familiar tone his story had taken on, but Bucky just laughed enthusiastically and asked about how he managed the kids on long haul flights.

He told Bucky all about their family trip to visit Peggy in England last summer, how the children had loved running around her parents’ large garden, the kind you could never find in a busy suburb like the one they lived in. They had spent the whole summer over there, and they had been quite unhappy leaving, especially Charlie.

“She really loves Peggy, I know she misses her. They all do, really.” His smile fell at the thought, but Bucky was there to reassure him.

“That’s natural, but you can’t be too hard on yourself. The distance is difficult, but the fact that you and Peggy have a good relationship is honestly so much more important. Kids pick up on that stuff.” Steve smiled at him, and they drifted into silence until their mugs were empty and Bucky stood to leave.

By the time Friday came around, Steve was surprised by how much time had passed. He knew he would be on his own at the weekends, per the original contract, so he had been working himself harder to free up time so he could spend it with the kids, and his friends.

At lunchtime, Bucky asked Steve if he had any plans for the weekend. 

“I was thinking of bringing the kids to the park or something, if the weather holds up, maybe asking Nat and Sam if they want to tag along. Tony will likely invite himself too.” They both laughed, and Steve asked Bucky the same question.

“I’ll probably visit my niece, maybe take her out for the day to give her parents a break.” Steve grinned.

“You finally get a few days away from my kids, and you wanna spend them with another kid? You’re a saint, Bucky Barnes.” Bucky seemed to flush, but he regained his composure and smiled good-naturedly.

“Yeah, well. I just love kids. Wouldn’t be in this line of work if I didn’t.” Steve smiled and watched that now-familiar soft, natural expression which had taken over Bucky’s face. Steve was taken aback by the thought that he could devote his life to keeping that expression there, but for now he wouldn’t dwell on it, allowing the comfortable silence to stretch between them.

Later, when Steve was cooking dinner, he saw Bucky speaking softly with the kids. Teddy cast what Steve figured was supposed to be a furtive look over at him. When he noticed they were being watched, there was a loud “SHHH” and they all fell about giggling. Bucky looked up at him with a grin and winked, at which Steve promptly busied himself with the lasagna he was assembling, wondering what they could possibly be plotting.

Once the children were in bed, Bucky looked at him, curiously. 

“So, I know you normally work now...” he began, and Steve didn’t know where he was going with it. “But I’m looking at you and, well. When was the last time you actually relaxed?” Steve shrugged, not wanting to admit that it was probably before Peggy moved away, but Bucky seemed to know anyway.

“Steve. You are gonna sit down, pick out a book, or a TV show, and you are gonna relax.” Steve hesitated, but Bucky gave him a look which Steve was sure he had seen him direct at Teddy earlier in the evening, when he had seen him sneaking the tablet outside of screen time, and he crumpled.

“Fine. I’ll give it a go, I just.. I don’t think I know how to relax anymore.” The expression that flickered across Bucky’s face at that was unreadable. Finally, he settled on a look of resignation, before sinking back into the familiar professional stance that he wore most of the day.

“All right then. This isn’t generally in my job description, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Get the TV set up, put on something not made for kids. I’ll be right back.” 

With that, Bucky went into the kitchen, and Steve heard him opening and closing cabinets. He stood frozen in the living room, until his brain caught up with what had just happened and he reached to switch on the TV. He flicked through his Netflix list, trying to find something that met the description. 

He reluctantly passed over all the kids movies and series that he tended to watch, and kept scrolling until he found something which he felt was suitable.

When Bucky came back, he had two bowls in his hand, and a large tub of ice cream. He glanced at the screen and nodded in approval.

“Not bad, Rogers. We’ll have you acting like an irresponsible adult in no time.” Bucky sat down on the sofa and patted the space next to him, where Steve sat reluctantly. 

“Now just relax, watch and eat.”

Steve nodded and pressed play on the movie. It was a favourite of his, one he had watched a lot back in college, and Steve felt himself relax as it played. He still jumped with a glance to the doorway if he heard any little creak from upstairs, but Bucky repeatedly urged him to relax, and Steve was surprised to find that it was working. He struggled to avoid singing along at his favourite parts, reminding himself that Bucky was already doing more than his assigned workload without being subjected to Steve’s singing.

Halfway through the movie, ice-cream finished (he would need to buy more soon. If Teddy found out he had eaten it without him, he would never hear the end of it), Steve felt himself relaxing further. Before he knew it, he was being nudged awake, and the end credits were rolling on the screen. 

“Shit, sorry! I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s fine. I knew you wouldn’t last the whole movie.” Bucky had that soft expression on his face again. Steve sat up straighter, and checked the time.

“I should probably get some work done.”

“Nope. You’re going to sleep. Trust me.” Bucky’s tone once again brokered no argument, so Steve reluctantly agreed as he led Bucky to the front door.

“Thank you. For. For everything, really.”

“All in a day’s work, Steve. Sleep tight.” 

“You too. See you Monday.”

“See ya, Steve.” He watched Bucky as he walked to his car and got in, waving at him as he pulled away.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Eight here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-8)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team Give Steve a big Family, I guess. The extended family Steve describes is pretty heavily based on my own, and I love the idea of him finding all of these relatives after growing up with just the two of them. I figured, if Steve was going to be travelling to England to visit Peggy, why wouldn't he also go to visit his family in Ireland and connect that broken link?


	9. Chapter 9

Bucky had messaged Thor during the week to ask about taking Freya out Saturday afternoon, and he had been more than happy to have a day for just himself and Jane. Bucky had allowed himself to sleep in until almost noon, ate a much more indulgent breakfast than he normally had time for, and then left his house with a spring in his step. When he got to the house, he was greeted by an incredibly excited five year old.

“Bucky!! Where are we going? Can we go to the park? Can I get an ice cream? Can I ride my bike there?” The questions came so fast, Bucky didn’t even have a chance to answer before she was asking another. 

“We can do whatever you like, Munchkin,” he interrupted her, before adding, “Within reason,” for safety. Thor gave him a look of sympathy as he handed over a small backpack, presumably filled with snacks and a change of clothes, just in case. 

He stayed there for just a few minutes, before Freya’s excitement overwhelmed him, and he allowed himself to be dragged out into the garden, where she grabbed her bike helmet and mounted her bright orange bike. Bucky did some mental calculations to figure out if he would be able to keep up with her on foot when her energy was this high, and it seemed Thor had come to the same conclusion as he had because he came out with a helmet and pointed Bucky towards his own bike.

Bucky put the helmet on and followed Freya out the front gate. She immediately turned towards the local park, and Bucky caught up and cycled alongside her for the short trip. When they got there, her helmet was thrust into his hand and she was off to the playground before he could even dismount his bike.

He had to laugh. For a kid who was so excited to spend the day with him, she sure seemed eager to get away now. He managed to maneuver both bikes to a stand and chained them up before finding a bench he could sit on with a clear view of the play area. He let himself relax, keeping an eye out for her familiar blonde hair and spending some time with his own thoughts.

Normally, days like this were a well-needed reprieve from his job. After a full week working with a family, he usually felt stretched thin; the mask he wore for work took a toll on his mental state more than any physical work had ever taken on his body. He always needed some time with his own family to hit reset on his weekends off.

Somehow, though, that need wasn’t quite as urgent this time around, in spite of the fact he had already spent longer there than he had anywhere else. It didn’t take long for him to realise why.

He didn’t normally stay after the kids’ bedtime, unless there was an urgent matter he wanted to discuss with a parent without children in the way. He definitely didn’t stay up watching movies and drinking tea with the parents. And he absolutely never dozed off in the middle of watching said movie, waking up to said parent’s face mushed against his shoulder and feeling like he never wanted to move from that position.

Shit.

He might be getting a little attached, and wasn’t that a scary thought? 

~*~*~

Steve woke up feeling warm and well-rested on Saturday, and was only slightly disappointed when he remembered that Bucky wouldn’t be around today.

He stretched as he got out of bed, realising that it was later than he usually slept on a Saturday. When he got downstairs, the smell of burnt toast greeted him, and it was a solid minute before he realised why that was probably not ideal.

Teddy met him at the door when he rushed down to the kitchen. He had his arms crossed, and a stubbornly stern expression on his face as though he were impersonating a bouncer at a club, though Steve wasn’t sure where he would have gotten that reference from.

“Nope, you gotta go back to bed, daddy!”

Steve looked around the room, noticing the bread had been taken out, along with butter and a wide range of condiments — from the standard jam and honey, to mustard and barbeque sauce, which Steve hoped none of them would _actually_ put on their toast. Charlie stood on a stool, looking hard at work with something she was blocking from Steve’s view, with Rosie standing on a chair next to her, munching on a slice of toast. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“Why—”

“Nope! It’s a surprise!” Teddy began to push him then, and he eventually conceded. From what he could see, the stove remained off, and he had grown used to picking his battles. He could sit in bed for another few minutes until they had finished whatever they were doing. He had shown Teddy how to work the toaster earlier in the week, and Charlie was old enough to have worked it out herself, so it really couldn’t be that bad.

He went back up to his room, Teddy pushing him all the way before rushing back down to his sisters. Steve sat in apprehension while he heard sounds of clattering from downstairs.

Just as he was going to go back down to investigate again, the sounds of three children climbing the stairs while bickering came to him. His door opened, and they appeared. Teddy held a tray with what looked like an entire loaf of bread, toasted to a crisp and sloppy with butter. Charlie had a glass of orange juice filled to the brim which Steve was sure must have been dripping all the way up the stairs. Rosie trailed behind them, still munching on her own slice of toast.

He felt a prickle in his eyes at the sight, but he blinked it away as Charlie deposited the juice on his bedside table and licked her fingers. Teddy put the precariously balanced tower of toast on the bed, and all three clambered up to sit on the bed.

“We made you breakfast! Mr. Bucky said we should treat you because he wasn’t gonna be here today, so this is what we decided.” Steve wanted to be annoyed at the mess that had no doubt been caused by their antics downstairs, but he couldn’t fight the smile that spread across his face.

“Well, I guess we better eat up. We have enough toast to feed an army!” Steve took a slice and began to eat. It was already cold and pretty soggy, but as he sat with his children around him, he had to admit it was one of the best breakfasts he had had in quite a while.

After they had eaten, they brought the plate (with several slices of toast left untouched — Steve would need to have a word with them about food waste, later) and glass back down to the kitchen, and Steve began to tidy up, before remembering the chore chart which they had painstakingly set up the previous week.

Charlie and Teddy huffed when he gestured to it but began to help, wiping down surfaces and putting dishes in the dishwasher.

When they had finished, Steve checked his phone. It was already well after noon, and he wasn’t surprised to see a text from Tony.

> Tony: We’re going to the park today. I need an update on what my money is paying for boo

Steve rolled his eyes at Tony’s odd way of texting, but just replied with a thumbs-up emoji before announcing it was time to get dressed. He picked up Rosie and ushered Charlie and Teddy up to their rooms.

He dressed her quickly, before dressing himself. He decided to wear jeans, for a change. He didn’t leave the house often, so he felt bad wearing sweatpants the few times he did.

They met Tony in their usual spot, and the kids ran off to the playground equipment - Charlie and Teddy to the climbing frame, and Rosie to the sandbox. Before long, Sam and Nat had joined them, and the adults all settled on a nearby bench. Steve braced for the inevitable questions.

He filled Tony in on how they were doing, but elected not to mention what had happened the previous night. He had a feeling that their reactions to finding out he and Bucky had fallen asleep together would be more than he had the energy to deal with, even after his good night of sleep. Nat was looking at him with a curious expression, which Steve shrugged off.

“I gotta say, I’m glad I called that guy. Seems like he’s worth the cash.”

“Yeah, man. Well rested is a good look on you,” Sam added to Tony’s summation, and Steve nodded.

“Thanks for forcing me into a change. It’s going well.”

“Sounds like he’s really something.” There was something behind Nat’s words, and Steve suspected she had picked up on the fact that he had skimmed certain details. He just shrugged and agreed with her as he watched Teddy and Charlie play together with a fair-haired girl Steve recognised from Teddy’s class. He didn’t see her parents around, but didn’t pay her too much mind, knowing they must be around somewhere, and focusing on his friends and his own children instead.

“Yeah, he really is.”

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Nine here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-9)


	10. Chapter 10

Bucky was sitting in the park, watching Freya and trying not to work himself into a panic over the possible implications of getting emotionally invested in a job, when Freya came bobbing over to him, followed by two now familiar faces and pulled him out of his spiralling thoughts.

“Mr. Bucky! Why are you here?”

“He’s my uncle,” Freya answered Teddy's question with an air of superiority. “Well. He’s not my uncle really, my dad isn’t his brother, but I call him my uncle.”

“Oh, like uncle Sam and auntie Nat!” Bucky just blinked in surprise, still adjusting to the fact that Steve’s kids were here, which meant that Steve was also probably here, which was exactly what he needed mid-crisis over how important they had become to him. He shook himself out of it, and greeted them as cheerfully as he could. 

“Bucky, I want my juice box!” Freya announced, and Bucky felt himself slip back into uncle-mode, opening the backpack and retrieving the juice box with a grin. Freya opened it happily and sat on the bench next to him, and Bucky tried to figure out whether to offer one of the spares to Teddy and Charlie.

Before he could decide, however, they were interrupted by a familiar shout.

“Charlotte and Theodore Carter-Rogers, how many times do I have to tell you that we do _not_ talk to strange— oh!” Steve seemed to finally recognise Bucky where he sat on the bench.

“Hi Steve,” he greeted sheepishly. “They were playing with my niece, so they came over with her.”

“Oh, I uh. Well, that’s fine, I just didn’t… didn’t recognise you.” Bucky ran his hand through his unstyled hair, curls free in the light breeze, and glanced down at his hoodie and shorts. He hadn’t bothered putting any product in his hair, and he just knew it was curling like crazy.

“Yeah. Yeah that’s, uh, fair, I kinda look like crap when I’m not working” he replied, attempting to ease some of the awkwardness. Steve made a face.

“Well, I don’t think _crap_ is exactly the word I’d use, I mean…” Steve trailed off, looking slightly pink.

They both lapsed into silence — Bucky trying to figure out a way to seem at least somewhat responsible in spite of his dishevelled appearance, while trying to decipher the odd look on Steve’s face. In contrast to his own appearance, Steve seemed to have made a clear effort when getting dressed. He was even wearing jeans. They looked well worn, soft and comfortable like everything else he associated with Steve, but much more fitted and stylish than anything Bucky had seen him in before. He looked good. Bucky tried to think of something to say, but thankfully Charlie broke the silence instead.

“We made daddy breakfast this morning, just like you said!” Bucky turned his attention to her, relieved. Kids, he could work with. He never had to figure out what to talk about with kids, and he certainly didn’t have to worry about looking put together and composed, or try to decipher what they were thinking. 

“You did? I didn’t say...”

“You said do something nice for him, so we made toast!”

“ _Lots_ of toast!” added Teddy, nodding eagerly, but then his face turned serious in a way only a five year old’s could. “Dad said it was too much toast.”

Bucky looked up at Steve, who just mouthed something that looked like “twenty slices”, and he winced.

“Well, I bet it was tasty, was it?” Teddy and Charlie both nodded, and then Freya pushed her empty juice box back into his hands, calling for Teddy and Charlie to join her back on the monkey bars. The children all eagerly dropped the conversation and went back to play.

“Twenty slices?” Bucky asked.

“At least,” Steve responded drily. “I didn’t even think we had that much bread in the house.”

They both laughed, and the tension seemed to have broken. They stood for a few moments, just watching the children play together, before they were interrupted by three other adults. Rosie toddled along between them, holding two of their hands. She ran forward when she saw him.

“Buggy!” He grinned and picked her up, and she promptly began plucking at his hair, clearly intrigued by the change in style.

Steve greeted the adults eagerly, and hastened to make introductions. Sam and Natasha, who must have been the aunt and uncle the kids had mentioned. Bucky was sure he had heard Steve mention them before at some point. Which left —

“Tony Stark, I pay your salary.” Bucky was once again mortified by his casual attire, but shook hands nevertheless.

“So this is the miracle worker?” commented Sam, and Natasha eyed him up and down.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say I'm a miracle worker,” Bucky tried to laugh it off, but Tony interrupted him.

“Oh please, I haven’t seen Steve this relaxed in years, Vin Diesel. How are you getting him to sleep?” Bucky felt himself flush as the image of last night popped into his mind, and he stammered awkwardly. A glance at Steve showed him that he wasn’t alone in the thought, but at least Steve managed to answer, clearly having more experience with Tony’s questioning.

“Tony, he’s there to help with the kids, not with me.” Tony rolled his eyes, and shrugged.

“Whatever you say, pal.” He suddenly checked his watch and started to back away. “We have lunch reservations. Round up the kiddos, Steve-o, alright?” 

Steve nodded and waved Tony off. Sam and Natasha followed after Tony, and Bucky finally looked back to Steve, who smiled awkwardly.

“Sorry about them. They mean well, I swear.” Bucky cracked a smile as he told Steve it was fine, really.

“I know what meddling friends are like, don’t worry.” Steve laughed, and looked like he was about to say something else but Tony’s voice called to him again. Steve shook himself and gave Bucky a small smile.

“Well, I better—” He gestured in the general direction of where the children played, and Bucky nodded.

“Yeah, go on. I’ll see you Monday?”

“Bright and early.” Steve took Rosie from him and turned to call Charlie and Teddy. He headed off in the direction of his friends and Bucky could have sworn the shadow of a wink crossed Steve’s face as he turned away. Bucky stood in shock, watching as they walked off. Charlie and Teddy both turned to wave at him as they left.

He heaved a breath.

He was _definitely_ getting attached.

He was still a little flustered from the realisation when he got back to Thor and Jane’s place later that afternoon, after bringing Freya to McDonalds and treating her to a large ice-cream from their favourite parlor nearby for dessert. She was worn out from the day of running around and all but collapsed into her favourite chair once she got home, so Bucky considered his job as an uncle well done.

He agreed to stay around for a while to catch up with Jane and Thor and they settled down in the kitchen with mugs of coffee.

“So what did you two get up to today?” he asked them.

“Oh, you know, there was much to do in the house. I did some yard work and cleaned the kitchen mostly.” Jane nodded in agreement. 

“It was good to have a little quiet time, though. No work, no kids.” Bucky smiled at her in understanding.

“How was she today? Seems she wore herself out.” Bucky laughed at Thor’s question.

“Yeah, we went to the park, she met some friends...” Bucky hesitated. “The family I’m working with, actually.”

“Oh is that so?” Jane seemed to register his hesitation, because she gave him a wry look. “How was that? I know you like to keep work and private life separate.” Bucky shrugged.

“It was… not weird.” She looked at him questioningly. “It was weird that it wasn’t weird? As in, casually spending time with him at the park somehow felt completely normal and natural.”

“Him? You are referring to Steven?” Bucky pursed his lips, sheepish. He hadn’t intended to bring up Steve, had hoped he could remain on the subject of the children, but oh well. It was clearly on his mind. He shrugged helplessly. He might as well tell them — they’d figure it out on their own eventually with how poor he was at disguising his emotions around those who really knew him. Besides, he could probably use their advice.

“Yeah, I just. I dunno, I think there’s something up. I’m off my game this week. I feel like I can’t keep myself from becoming attached, you know? I want to help tuck Rosie in at night, bring Teddy along on a bike ride or listen to Charlie’s stories. I want to stay after bedtime and _talk_ — not even about the job, but about myself, about _life_ and — fuck, I mean I told him about my _family_. I don’t know, I just feel like I’m not doing my job properly.”

Thor and Jane exchanged a look, and Jane nodded, before getting up to go check on Freya.

“Well, I cannot speak for much of this, but I do think you are selling yourself short.” Bucky looked at Thor in question. “I have seen Steven at the school gates, and he looks far more content with each day. Freya has even commented that Teddy has been more settled in class. You _are_ helping them, despite your attachment.” He paused, and Bucky felt that he was checking his face for something before he continued. “Perhaps, even due to your attachment.”

Bucky frowned, eyebrows furrowing. He knew where Thor was going with this, and he didn’t agree. He had always gotten the impression that Thor had disapproved of his refusal to get emotionally attached to the families he worked with.

“Thor, you know if I go around making friends with everyone I work with, that I’ll never be able to leave.” Thor pursed his lips, and let out a long breath.

“You do not need to attach yourself to every family. Just do not discount a potential friend, or more.” Bucky tried to protest, but Thor just raised an eyebrow and doubled down, “ _or more_ , just because you met them through work. After all, had you had that policy in the beginning, you would not be here, you would not know Freya as she is. Would you have her live without her uncle Bucky?” Bucky narrowed his eyes at the clear guilt-tripping, but Thor just widened his eyes innocently and sipped his coffee.

Bucky sighed. All things considered, Thor had a point.

“I just don’t know how to balance the two anymore,” he admitted. “I’ve learned so much since I met you guys, and I feel like I can’t find a spot between professional and personal without sacrificing both. I don’t know if that’s a problem with me, or with the way the business has grown, or just something I need to accept.” Jane had come back in while he was speaking, and Bucky looked up as she pitched in.

“Why don’t you just take a step back? You usually give families a little time to test things out on their own, so why don’t you do that, then see if you can come back with fresh eyes?” 

And really, that was the perfect solution, wasn’t it? He would be able to evaluate the work he had done and go back in with fresh eyes. Logically, he couldn’t see any flaw in the idea, but the thought of it unsettled him.

He wasn’t sure why, and he really didn’t want to examine it any further, but the idea of spending more than a weekend away from Steve and the kids was hard to wrap his head around. Of course, he would have to sooner or later. Jesus Christ, if he couldn’t even face leaving them for a week, what was he going to do when the contract ended? That thought was enough to make it clear that this was a good idea. He would have to call Steve and work out some time apart. 

He checked his calendar, realising that Becca would be home the following week, so it really would be the perfect time to take a break from work. Alpine would be grateful too — she had been temperamental each time he got home late this week, and he could tell she missed being pampered.

He blinked, realising that Thor and Jane had been watching him as he thought it through.

“You’re right. I’m going to call him later, let him know.” 

Bucky felt unsettled as he made his way home an hour or so later. Though the conversation had changed to more mundane topics — Freya’s school work; Thor’s business partner; Jane’s research — Bucky had felt the upcoming conversation with Steve constantly present in the back of his head. He decided to take the plunge as soon as he got home, texting Steve to find out when would be best to call, and steadfastly not thinking about how even that — texting; talking directly rather than emailing about the idea — was far removed from how he normally interacted with clients.

Steve said he was free after bedtime, and Bucky felt himself watching the clock as he killed time. He wiped down countertops that hadn’t been used all week, straightened his sofa cushions, and even reorganised one of his kitchen cabinets.

Finally, the clock showed that it was eight thirty, and he picked up his phone to call Steve.

“Hey Buck, just a second, hold on!” Steve’s voice was soft, hushed slightly, and Bucky felt some of the tension he had been holding wash away. There was a rustle, and the phone was placed down. Bucky waited as he heard Steve’s voice rumbling indistinctly. A pause, then the phone was picked up again.

“Charlie wants to say goodnight, is that okay?”

“I— Yeah of course,” Bucky managed to respond, before the phone changed hands.

“Hi Mr. Bucky!” His heart clenched at the soft voice, at the fact that she had asked to talk to him.

“Hey, Charlie girl. You still up?”

“I’m in bed, daddy was reading a story.”

“Sounds good, did you have a good time at lunch?”

“Mm-hm.” She yawned loudly, making Bucky smile.

“Sounds like you’re worn out, huh?” She hummed in agreement.

“Well you better get to sleep eh? Goodnight Charlie.”

“‘Night, Bucky.” Her voice was slurring, and Bucky heard a rustle as Steve picked up the phone again, then a pause as he whispered his own goodnight to his daughter and left the room.

“I mentioned you were calling and she wanted to stay up till you did so she could say goodnight.” The smile was evident in Steve’s voice, and Bucky felt something well up in his throat.

“She’s a great kid. They all are.” Steve hummed in agreement, before changing the topic. 

“So what did you wanna talk about?” He sounded relaxed, and Bucky could just picture him, lounging on the sofa as he tended to do after getting the kids to sleep, maybe stretching his back if it was sore.

“Oh, right! Uh...” Bucky scrambled to get back on track, and then hesitated as he tried to figure out how to put it.

“Well, I was just thinking. We made a good bit of progress last week, right?” He began to hedge around his point, rather than diving straight in.

“Oh yeah, definitely! It’s honestly helping so much, you have no idea, Buck.” Bucky felt a warmth spread through him at the nickname, but he made himself plow on.

“Well, I was thinking. It might be a good idea to take a step back, see how things are working?” There was a pause from Steve’s end, and Bucky waited nervously.

“I… What do you mean by a step back, exactly?” Bucky bit his lip. Steve’s voice sounded slightly strained, and Bucky didn’t want to make him think he wanted to be rid of them.

“Just for a couple of days. It’s something I generally do mid-contract. I leave for a while, let you try out the methods on your own, then that way we can see if there’s anything that needs to be tweaked with the routine when I’m not there.” Bucky waited for Steve’s reply anxiously.

“Oh! Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.” Was it just him, or did Steve sound… disappointed? He shook his head. That manner of thinking was detrimental. He needed to be professional and detached or he wouldn’t get through this.

“Yeah, so I was thinking I’d leave it up to you. I can come by Monday if there’s anything you wanted to wrap up or double check. Otherwise, well…”

“Otherwise you could just not come back until whatever date we fix on?” And yeah, that was definitely disappointment in Steve’s voice. Shit.

“Well, yeah.” Bucky felt like shit, but he had to do this or he’d never get over whatever was preventing him from just _doing his job_. “It’s totally up to you though, of course!” he hastened to add, picturing the expression on Steve’s face and trying to relieve it.

“Yeah alright, I mean that — that sounds fine. How long were you thinking?”

“Well, I thought maybe a week? So I would be back the following Monday.” Steve was quiet again, and Bucky could practically hear the gears turning in his head. Was he making a mistake here? 

“Yeah, okay. Right. Next week, then. I’ll see you next week.”

“I’ll still have my work phone, so please message if you aren’t sure of anything, or if you need to talk something through. I’ll be here.” This was absolutely not part of the regular agreement, but something about Steve’s tone meant that Bucky couldn’t _not_ offer an olive branch of some sort, and he had to admit it was reassuring to think he might not have to go the whole week without hearing from them. He heard a sigh over the phone, and Steve spoke again, voice back to normal.

“Alright. Thanks, Bucky. I’ll hold you to that.” He laughed, and the sound warmed Bucky, even though he could tell it was at least partially forced. Regardless, it relieved some of the tension he had been holding in his chest.

“I’ll leave you to it. Try to get some rest, and stick to the schedule, alright?”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Bucky could hear some lingering nervousness in Steve’s voice, so he spoke up again before Steve could hang up.

“And Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“You absolutely _can_ do this. I believe in you.”

“I.. Thanks.”

“Bye Steve”

“Bye Bucky.” The line went dead and Bucky looked at his phone with a smile.

The idea of a week without them was unnerving, even after so short a time on the job, but he would have Alpine, and even Becca. He would get through this, and then he could get back to normal.

He stubbornly ignored the fact that “normal” no longer sounded quite as appealing as it usually did.

  
[**Listen to Chapter Ten here.**](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-10)


	11. Chapter 11

Steve had to admit he was confused by Bucky’s sudden request for time off. He knew that, yes, there was a clause in the contract which stated that a trial period was normal. He had just assumed that that would be something agreed upon in advance. But Bucky had said he would see Steve Monday, on two separate occasions now, and Steve wondered what could have happened in the few hours between the park and when Bucky had texted asking to talk.

He hoped everything was okay. 

He didn’t know how to break the news to Charlie and Teddy, and spent most of Sunday trying to plan for the week ahead. It wasn’t until after dinner that he finally sat them down.

“What is it, daddy?” Teddy asked, looking up at him with concern.

“Well, it’s about Bucky.”

“We’re sorry for going over to him in the park! Freya said he was her uncle and we know him, so-” Teddy was looking upset, while Charlie sat in silence.

“It’s not that, don’t worry. I was just worried until I recognised him.” Steve paused, trying to figure out the best way to break the news. He knew that the kids had grown close to him over the last two weeks and he wanted to be careful. Charlie picked up on his hesitation.

“Is he okay?” she asked, and Steve’s heart melted at the look of concern on her face.

“He’s fine sweetie, it’s just. He’s not gonna be here tomorrow, okay?”

“Why not?” asked Teddy, and wasn’t that the million dollar question. Steve just gave the same excuse Bucky had given him.

“He wants to see how I can get along without him, for a while.” 

“Is he coming back ever?” Charlie was trying to maintain a stoic expression but Steve knew she was upset. He reached out an arm to hug her, and Teddy moved in too.

“He will be back, I promise, but...” He pulled back just far enough to look them in the eye, “It won’t be forever. You know that, right? He was never going to stay forever.” Steve didn’t know exactly why that sentence was so difficult to say, but he could tell it was equally hard for Charlie to hear, because she pulled away from him and stormed up to her room without a word. Teddy didn’t have the same reaction, but Steve could tell he was bothered too.

He let them each process it in their own way, allowing Teddy extra screen time before bed, and giving Charlie some time to herself. He checked in on her at bedtime to find her already asleep. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. She sniffled and curled up under the blanket. He would need to talk to her properly tomorrow, find out what was truly bothering her, but for now he let her sleep.

The house was quiet once they were asleep, so he decided to get some work done.

Monday morning dawned, and with it came Steve’s first independent school run in two weeks. It went about as well as could be expected. Teddy got dressed on his own and ate his breakfast without complaint, but kicked up a fuss about putting on a jacket, even though it was clearly raining outside. Charlie was quiet, almost like she had been before Bucky had arrived, and didn’t respond to Steve’s attempts to make small talk. She didn’t even ask for braids, even though he had actually been studying how Bucky did it, but she just gave him a scrunchie to put her hair in a ponytail.

Rosie had seemed to pick up on the maudlin mood in the house, and she fussed for no apparent reason while Steve loaded them into the car.

He dropped them off feeling dejected, and when he returned to the empty house it somehow felt worse. Rosie toddled off to play, looking in every room downstairs before returning to Steve with a frown.

“Where Buggy?” She looked so confused that Steve felt himself melt.

“He’s not here, baby. He will be back next week, I promise. What do you say you and I play a game, huh?” She seemed to think about it carefully, before responding 

“Airplane!” Steve sighed, realising he had basically signed up for that by not being specific. He picked her up over his head, where she spread her arms, cheering as he swooped her around the room making engine noises. It was while she was laughing that he felt a sharp twinge in his back, and he forced back a swear.

He put her down carefully and stumbled into the living room, lowering himself onto the sofa carefully. 

Shit, it wasn’t even naptime on his first day, and he had to go and strain his back. It happened from time to time, so he knew how to deal with it, but it would make this week so much more difficult than it needed to be. 

He had suffered a lot with his health as a child, with more diagnoses than he knew how to pronounce, from scoliosis to asthma and heart problems, but thankfully modern medicine meant that through surgeries, medication, and two years of wearing a painful back brace, he could generally live normally. One or the other would flare up from time to time though, alerting him that he was doing too much or not getting enough rest as he was prone to do.

He had been doing so well, though, that this was taking him by surprise. Rosie toddled over to him, and rested a hand gently on his leg.

“Daddy sore?” she asked, and he nodded.

“Yeah, daddy sore. I’ll be okay, but no more airplanes for a while okay?” She nodded and retrieved the TV remote, handing it to him.

“M’ana?” she asked, and Steve was familiar enough with her baby talk that he knew what she was asking for, turning on the TV and putting on Moana. When the movie was finished, he tested his movement. Still painful, but he should at least be able to shuffle to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom to retrieve his emergency pain medication.

It took him a few minutes to cross the house, and then he had to go back to the kitchen for a glass of water before he could actually take the pills. He finally made his way back to the sofa where he once again found a tolerable position to sit in while he waited for the pain to subside, taking care to regulate his breathing.

By the time he was able to move properly, Rosie was well past due for her nap, and was becoming cranky. She threw her toy phone across the room when he tried to get her to walk to her room on her own, and started crying and wriggling when he carefully picked her up, fighting a wince.

He finally got her down, but she continued to cry. Remembering Bucky’s advice, Steve left the door open, but retreated to his studio, leaving her to her own devices. He couldn’t focus on his work, unable to find a comfortable enough position to work in, but at least she calmed down and actually fell asleep after ten minutes of crying. 

He would take his wins where they came.

Charlie and Teddy were familiar with his flare ups by now, so he told them he was sore when he picked them up from school, and they let him rest on the sofa most of the evening, doing their homework on the floor near him so he could help if they needed him.

He couldn’t resist sending Bucky an update that evening as he sat alone, TV on and house quiet.

Steve: Managed to survive my first day alone, though I did spend most of it unable to leave the sofa.

He got a reply quickly, and smiled as he read it, ignoring the show he had selected. It was one that Sam kept insisting he watch, but he could always watch it another time.

Bucky: Are you okay? I’m going to need more information here.

He replied, explaining what had happened, and tried — unsuccessfully — to refocus on the show. Bucky sent an admonishment for not being more careful and Steve felt a warmth spread through him at the concern, though he reminded himself that it was purely professional. It was Bucky’s job to make sure Steve was parenting to his best ability, and he could hardly do that if he wasn’t taking care of himself.

He went to bed early, hoping that his back would have recovered enough the next morning to get some actual work done. 

Thankfully, he did feel a little better when he woke up, so he was able to return to at least something resembling Bucky’s routine. 

~*~*~

Monday morning, Bucky found himself waking early, despite having switched off his alarm. Becca was due to arrive in the afternoon, and he had no responsibilities before that. He had been hoping for some extra sleep, but habit, or maybe a noise from outside — he didn’t care to question it — made him wake before sunrise. He groaned and rolled over, trying to fall back asleep, but he couldn’t. His mind kept drifting to the Rogers’. 

They would probably be waking up around now. Bucky had been taking charge of Charlie’s hair most mornings lately, Steve asking questions and diligently studying the techniques he used. Would she ask Steve to braid it, or would she take pity on him and ask for something simpler? Would Rosie eat her breakfast? Would Teddy brush his teeth? 

Question after question swirled around in his mind, and he finally gave up on sleep. He padded out to the kitchen in his underwear to start up the coffee machine before flopping down on the sofa, not bothering to get dressed yet. Alpine had also woken up, and she meowed at him from her blanket on the floor by the window, likely wondering why he wasn’t getting ready to leave. Bucky knew she missed him when he was away, but she tended to show it through indignation rather than affection.

When the coffee machine clicked off, he went to pour himself a large mug, adding the fancy creamer he only used when he actually had time to savour the taste. The sun rose as he drank, and he watched the sky lighten through his apartment window. It wasn’t the right angle to actually see the sun rise, but it was still a peaceful sight as he sat quietly. About halfway through his coffee, Alpine made her way over and sat on his lap. He took a deep breath, thinking about the week ahead.

He hadn’t made any plans, waiting to see if there was anything Becca wanted to do. There were things he needed to do around the house; laundry and cleaning mostly, but none of it was urgent. He figured he’d maybe write a blog post or two since he hadn’t posted in a while, and he might try to find time to record a video. Maybe something about working from home as a single parent, but he’d have to run that by Steve to make sure he didn’t include anything Steve would be uncomfortable with.

He checked the time; just after seven now and the sun was fully risen. Steve would be trying to negotiate breakfast, maybe managing to eat something himself if he was having a particularly good morning. Bucky picked up Alpine, letting her climb up onto his shoulder and carrying her into the kitchen where he poured another pot of coffee and tried to figure out what breakfast he could put together. He had some oatmeal and a banana which was on it’s way to overripe, but they would have to do. He would have to go get some groceries before Becca showed up, lest she try to insinuate he wasn’t a functioning adult without her there (even though she was probably correct about that).

He showered once he had taken his time eating and draining the pot of coffee, so that by the time he had dressed and left the house, it was well past nine. Steve would be finishing up the school run by now, he figured. 

The grocery run was unadventurous, and he picked up his usual items without much thought. He paused in the produce aisle, eventually caving in and buying the ingredients for a vegetable soup. Being springtime, it was all undersized and overpriced, but he shrugged it off. He wasn’t sure where Steve got his recipe from, or what was in it, but it was warm and comforting, and he wanted to try his hand at recreating a little bit of that sensation of warmth for himself.

He got home with enough time to spare to clean the apartment properly and make a start on the soup, letting the vegetables boil in the broth he had picked up.

Becca texted to let him know she was nearby around one in the afternoon, just as the soup was ready, so he took it off the heat and set the table, taking out the fresh bread he had bought and double checking that he had remembered to change the sheets on her bed.

She gave him a funny look when she saw the soup on the stovetop, but didn’t say anything. It was a little watery, slightly lumpy, but good. It didn’t have the same deep, warming effect Steve's had, though, and Bucky wondered if there were maybe some spices he should be adding to it. Becca filled him in on her trip and the last few days of school as they ate, and they spent the rest of the day watching TV, arguing over their differing opinions regarding Rory’s choice of boyfriends and eventually conceding that the only man worth rooting for in the show was Luke.

Bucky checked the time a few points during the day, mentally going through Steve’s schedule and wondering how he was doing. His phone buzzed with a text from Steve sometime after the kids’ bedtime, and Bucky frowned. He chastised Steve for being careless about his back, and was unable to re-focus on whatever hijinks Kirk was getting into this time until he was sure Steve would be alright. 

Becca raised an eyebrow at him, and he clarified.

“It’s just work, don’t worry.”

“That is not your _just work_ face, Bucky.” He ignored her, and glued his eyes to the TV screen, where Emily was giving Lorelai a scathing look.

From there, he began to get more texts from Steve. He would pull out his phone whenever it buzzed, answering whatever question Steve had and reassuring him that he had made the right call when he could, and Becca always gave him the same look. When he got a video of Teddy doing a dinosaur impression and stomping all over assorted toys on the floor, Steve’s laughter audible in the background, Bucky replayed it multiple times, and Becca finally snapped at him.

“Okay Bucky, this is clearly not just a work thing. What is going on?”

“Okay, it’s not a ‘ _professional_ ’ work thing, but it is work-adjacent, okay?” He turned his phone and replayed the video for her to watch, and she raised an eyebrow at him when it ended.

“So what, you just text your clients cute videos now?” Bucky shrugged.

“Not normally, no. But Steve is… different.” Becca sat up straight and looked at him with a grin.

“ _Different,_ you say. Interesting. Different how?” Bucky huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Different as in he sends videos of his kids. End of discussion.” Becca looked like she wanted to protest, so Bucky decided that a change of tactic was needed. “How’s Robert?” He was rewarded by a faint blush on Becca’s cheeks, and she seemed to soften.

“He’s good,” she replied, evasively.

“Wow.” Bucky turned to face her properly. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were smitten. But that can’t be true, since you promised you’d tell your big brother if—” His teasing was cut short by a pillow to the face. He spluttered and retaliated with his own pillow, causing Becca to squeal. They were locked in battle for close to five minutes before Becca conceded defeat and collapsed back onto the sofa.

“Fine! We’re dating, he’s great, what else do you want?” 

“You know exactly what I want.” He raised an eyebrow cheekily and she groaned.

“You are _not_ meeting him. Not yet, at least.” Bucky pouted at her, but she knew he was only teasing, and after a fierce staring contest, which Becca won, they backed down and resumed their binge, though they both knew the subject wasn’t finished.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Eleven here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-11)


	12. Chapter 12

The rest of the week apart wasn’t as bad as it could have been for Steve. The kids clearly missed Bucky, but Rosie stopped asking when he was coming back sometime on Wednesday. Charlie wasn’t quite as cheerful as she had been when Bucky was around, but she wasn’t as upset as she had been Monday morning, at least. Teddy was his usual energetic self, jumping off the sofa and laughing, but he was slightly more prone to resisting Steve’s entreaties to be careful than he had been when Bucky had been around. 

All the while, Steve kept texting Bucky. It started with just updates about his day: an excited message when Teddy had picked up his toys without being asked, a question when he wasn’t sure about whether a sleepover at Sam’s house would fall under “family time” or “trips” in the reward chart. He knew the excuses were flimsy, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about it when Bucky sent back well reasoned and enthusiastic answers.

By the middle of the week, though, they had begun texting more casually. Steve occasionally snapped a picture or video of Rosie singing along or dancing to Frozen, and Bucky replied with either a simple “aww”, or a question about why she was wearing different clothes from earlier (the answer was usually soup. Or juice. Or unidentified gunk).

Bucky didn’t tend to say anything about himself, but that was fine with Steve. He knew he wasn’t exactly the most open person, and that was okay. Bucky seemed to enjoy Steve's messages and updates, so he kept sending them.

Meanwhile, Steve was managing to stick to his schedule, but it was never enough time to get his work done. He gradually felt himself falling behind as the week progressed, so he decided to risk it and set his alarm early on Thursday. Studiously ignoring the mental image of Bucky giving him his patented frown for cutting into his sleep schedule (brows furrowed ever so slightly, nose wrinkling, and a subtle downturn to his lips), he made his way to the studio and tried to catch up. He’d be fine, surely.

He was exhausted all day. He hadn’t really realised how much simply getting enough sleep since Bucky arrived had helped, until he was trying to parent on only four hours rest again. The children had picked up on it too, as they all seemed to be extra prickly all day, and small problems such as running out of strawberry jam for toast at breakfast time escalated into a five minute tantrum from Teddy which resulted in them arriving late for school, and Charlie giving them all the cold shoulder on her way in.

He had avoided texting Bucky all day, not wanting to admit that he had put work ahead of sleep again, mostly not wanting to admit he was wrong about his lack of sleep actually contributing to the issues he had been having.

But then, just as Charlie was calling Peggy and the kids were all gathered together in the living room, he felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out to see a message from Bucky.

> Bucky: Hey, just checking in! everything ok? you’ve been quiet today

He smiled softly as he replied.

> Steve: Yeah, All ok now. Just a bit of a rough one, didn’t sleep too great.

It wasn’t a lie  _ exactly, _ but Steve still felt guilty sending it.

> Bucky: Is that code for “woke up at 3am to work instead of sleeping for a reasonable amount of time”?

Steve flushed, because of course Bucky knew him well enough at this point to know exactly what he hadn’t wanted to say.

> Steve: Maybe. Please don’t give me that look ok I know, promise I won’t do it again.

Before Bucky could reply, Teddy had come in to him carrying the tablet and handing it over. Peggy looked up at him from the screen. She looked amused.

“So I hear you’re back to your old tricks?” He tried to look innocent, like he had no idea what she was talking about, but of course she saw through him immediately. She raised an eyebrow, and he caved.

“Alright, yeah, I know. I shouldn’t be putting work ahead of sleep, I just have a deadline tomorrow, and I— Yeah, okay. But you don’t need to lecture me, Bucky’s already called me out on it.”

Peggy’s mouth quirked in the exact same way Charlie’s did when she was considering a new piece of information.

“I thought it was Bucky’s week off? Didn’t you say he wasn’t back till Monday?” Steve felt himself go pink, and he hesitated before replying.

“Yeah, well he — That is, I’ve been uh.. texting him, a little. On and off.”

“Is that so?” Peggy sounded amused and Steve really didn’t know how to respond without digging himself in deeper.

“It’s just about the kids, Pegs, I swear. Nothing to get hung up on.” She didn’t seem to believe him but didn’t press him for details, much to his relief.

“All right, all right. You know I just like teasing you.”

“Yeah, yeah, trust me I’ve noticed that. What about you? How’s Angie?” Peggy’s expression changed, and Steve would almost say she looked bashful. It was a new look on her, and he felt a smile pull at his lips.

“That good, huh?” And yeah, that was definitely a blush on her cheeks.

“Oh hush, smug isn’t a good look on you.” Steve laughed, and she rolled her eyes at him. Then he heard a voice coming from somewhere on her end, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Is that my name I heard, English?” Peggy looked as though she had been caught in something she shouldn’t have been doing, and Steve understood when he saw a figure come to stand behind her, hair in a towel and dressed in loungewear.

“Now this is interesting,” he teased, and Peggy scowled at him.

“You must be Steve?” asked the stranger, and he nodded.

“Angie, I figure?” She nodded, and rested her chin on Peggy’s shoulder to get a better look at him.

“Nice to meet ya, finally. I was beginning to think Pegs here was keeping me a secret. It was kinda hot, honestly.” Steve laughed. He liked this woman. Peggy gave a long suffering sigh, one which Steve was intimately familiar with, and that set him off even more. When he finally regained his composure, he looked between them with a questioning look.

“She’s mentioned you before, but this definitely looks like it’s been more than three weeks?” Peggy gave him a look as she responded, as though pleading with him not to make this into a big deal. He shrugged lightly.

“Try closer to six months.” Steve was surprised, but looking at the way they acted together, it was less of a surprise than it would have been had Peggy just told him outright.

Angie was whispering something to Peggy, who finally nodded as though giving in to something. Angie kissed her softly and moved out of frame.

“We were actually wondering…” Steve hummed to show he was listening, “Well we thought it might be an idea to introduce Angie to the kids?” She looked nervous, and Steve thought about it for a moment.

“I don’t see a problem with it,” he finally said, and Peggy sighed in relief. “You seem like you guys are pretty serious, so it wouldn’t be fair to keep it from them.” Peggy smiled at him, and he recognised the gratitude in her expression. They agreed they would do it this weekend when the children would have time to process before they were back in school.

That night, Steve dreamt that his whole family were together in a small house which reminded him of his grandmother’s place. Charlie and Teddy were playing with Angie while Peggy looked on in amusement. Sam and Natasha were in the kitchen, and he could hear one of his cousins in there with them. 

He looked around for Rosie, wondering where she could have gotten to, but then an arm wrapped around his waist and someone pressed a kiss to his temple. He turned to see Bucky, Rosie on his hip and smiling at him the same way Angie had been smiling at Peggy.

“Come on, everyone’s outside.” Steve followed him, realising that the others had in fact gone outside. He let Bucky lead him, leaning into his embrace as they walked. There was a grill set up, and even more people out there.

A young woman greeted him, and even though he had no idea what she looked like in real life, and he couldn’t make out any of her features in the dream, Steve’s subconscious told him that she must be Bucky’s sister. Steve sat down on a picnic blanket, Bucky on his right, and Rosie sat down between them. Teddy and Charlie ran over, and the five of them sat in a huddle, laughing and grinning. Steve looked up and his eyes met Bucky’s. His breath hitched, and everything else fell away.

Steve woke with a gasp.

What was  _ that _ about?

The dream kept replaying in his head all day Friday, and he was still thinking about it on Saturday when he sat the children down to call Peggy and Angie. After introductions were made, and Angie had made a good impression on them, Peggy looked at him questioningly and he agreed to call her back after bedtime, though it would be late for her.

“What happened?” she asked, in lieu of a hello.

“I uh… I had a dream the other night, and Bucky was in it.” Peggy looked at him funnily and he realised what that had sounded like.

“Shut up, not that type of dream.” He laughed at himself.

“Well, what was it like?” Peggy prompted him, and he tried to think about it.

“It was just… He was holding Rosie, and the whole family was there. It was just. It felt right, that he was there.” Peggy hummed thoughtfully.

“I think you need to think about what that means. Clearly you like having him around, for more than just childcare. And the children clearly adore him, they didn’t stop talking about him when he was around.” Steve bit his lip, nodding.

“I just… I dunno, Peg. It’s only been three weeks since I met him, he’s already been gone for half as long as he was here.”

“Just think about it. There’s no need to rush anything, but think about it.” He hummed in agreement, nodding thoughtfully.

They disconnected, and Steve went to bed, mind reeling.

~*~*~

Bucky spent the bulk of his week off attempting to get a blog post written, but it was slow progress. He wanted to blame it on the fact that he hadn’t written in a while, or the fact that Becca was in the other room facetiming her boyfriend, but that wasn’t strictly true.

The truth was, he couldn’t focus because every time he reached a new point in his notes, he found his mind drifting to Steve’s kitchen, where he’d watch Steve juggle serving dinner with one hand while holding Rosie in the other. He read back over a post he had made about bedtimes, and his head was filled with the sound of Steve’s voice reading a story, or Charlie’s muffled voice over the phone, or Teddy complaining about having to brush his teeth.

This whole  _ taking some space to prevent getting more attached _ idea had backfired quite spectacularly, he realised, the fourth time he had blinked back to reality only to realise he had been daydreaming again.

It was Thursday before he had finished writing anything worth publishing, but as he read it over, he noticed it was much more sentimental than his usual work. He decided to leave it, hoping he could fix it in edits later. He went out to his kitchen to throw something together for lunch, and called Becca out of her room when it was ready.

They ate their sandwiches in a rare silence; Bucky dwelling on his own problems, and Becca eyeing him curiously. She waited until they had finished eating to question him.

“Alright, spill. That blog post still being stubborn?” Bucky nodded, but then shook his head. 

“I dunno. I mean, it’s done but… it’s different from what I usually post, and I don’t really know why or how.” 

“Different isn’t necessarily bad,” Becca reasoned, “but if you want, I can read over it for you?” Bucky wanted to decline, but he couldn’t think of a valid reason to. 

“Sure, I mean, if you have time, I don’t want to ask—” 

“I’m offering, Bucky bear, you ain’t asking a thing.” Becca stood, dumping their plates in the sink and going straight for his office. Bucky’s eyes widened and he chased her in, not having expected her to try reading it over right that second.

She had the laptop open on his draft, prompting him to ask how she knew his password. She just scoffed and rolled her eyes as though that was a ridiculous thing to ask and started reading the drafted post.

Bucky hovered behind her as she read, feeling rather anxious, though he knew he shouldn’t. Her expression changed as she read, brow tightening and then softening.

“Oh, Bucky,” she spoke as she got to the end, then turned to him. “I love you, but you’re an idiot.” Bucky did a double take, not sure what she was talking about.

“What do you mean? It’s different but surely it isn’t that bad, right?” She shook her head.

“Bucky, you like him.” He furrowed his brow.

“Well, yeah, I’ve gotten a bit closer with the family than I usually would, but I don’t—”

“Not to get all middle school about it, but I meant that you  _ like  _ like him.” Bucky choked and stared at her. “It’s obvious from the post that these thoughts go beyond professional, beyond friendly. It’s tender as fuck, bro.” Bucky ducked to read through the post himself, turning redder with each line he read as he took in her words.

It was obvious looking back now, that he was developing a crush. He thought back on the way he felt a flutter in his chest when Steve laughed or smiled; the way he felt himself opening up as he had barely done for anyone other than his family and his therapist; the soft smile he couldn’t fight when he was watching Steve read a bedtime story or hearing his laughter while he bathed Rosie.

It had been so long since Bucky had had feelings for anyone, romantic or otherwise, that he had managed to completely overlook the signs. He had only ever had one or two relationships before, and dating had quickly become even less of a priority once he had Becca to look after. He had gone on a few dates over the years, but never really felt enough for the person to make an effort. They had all fizzled out after only one or two dates. He sometimes missed the intimacy, sure, but it was never really something he actively sought out. 

When Becca had started dating in high school, he had done a little research online. Finding the term  _ gray asexual _ hadn’t been as earth-shattering as  _ gay _ had been when he was her age, but he felt it nestle into that same place in his heart nonetheless. He carried the label with him through the years, a reminder to himself that no matter how many times clients and casual acquaintances asked him why he was still single, he wasn’t weird for not having that kind of desire most of the time.

All that considered, the realisation that he was apparently well on his way to being head over heels for his — presumably straight — client was certainly a surprise, to say the least. He sat on the floor and did the only thing he could think to do.

He laughed. 

It started as a soft giggle, but soon developed into full belly-laughter, while Becca looked on, bemused.

“Fuck it!” he said through his laughter. “What the fuck?” he asked of nobody in particular, as his laughter gradually subsided.

“I take it this is new information?” Becca asked him, seeming unsure whether she should be amused or concerned. Bucky nodded through the last dregs of his laughter, and sobered up quickly.

“Fuck, this is bad.” He pulled his legs towards him and wrapped his arms around his knees. Becca sat down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“How so?” she asked, simply.

“Well first of all, he’s a client. That’s so fucking unprofessional, Becs.” She didn’t react, just hummed.

“Are you telling me you’ve never had a crush on a cute dad before?” Bucky looked at her blankly.

“Of course not! I don’t think about that kind of thing on a job, it should be all about the kids!” 

“I mean, it seems to me you’re pretty fond of the kids too,” she pointed out, and Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Well, duh, I mean they’re great kids.” He smiled as he remembered the text Steve had sent him about how Teddy had finally mastered writing the letter “f”, and how Steve was having to be very careful to limit the number of ‘f’ words he was taught.

Becca must have noticed the change in his expression, because she was smiling again.

“Do you think you’ve been helping them?” she asked, and Bucky shrugged.

“I mean, they’re definitely doing better than they were before I got there, but—”

“Then don’t beat yourself up over something you have no control over.” He sighed, but was forced to concede.

“Yeah, alright. I’ll just have to deal with it. At least I know why everything was different there now.” Becca clapped him on the shoulder and reached out a hand to pull him up. As they went back out to the living room, she gave him a warning look.

“And don’t go getting complacent, I am going to tease you  _ so badly  _ about this later.”

Bucky laughed again, but it was much less frantic this time.

“I wouldn’t have expected anything less,” he conceded. “Thanks for the heads up, though.”

She just smirked at him and turned on the TV. Bucky was not looking forward to the inevitable teasing, but at least she had let him get his panic out of the way first.

The remaining few days went by quickly, and he managed to survive Becca’s teasing by asking her questions about Robert until they were both blushing and unwilling to take it any further. Before he knew it, it was Sunday afternoon and he was waving Becca off as she left to go back to college.

The apartment was once again quiet, and Bucky had nothing to distract himself from what going back to work would mean. He sat with Alpine, trying to remember his usual checklist for the day before rejoining a family. He finally had to go into his office to retrieve the notebook he had used for his last job, reading through his notes.

It wasn’t a particularly long list, and it was generally something he did without a second thought, just refreshing his memory of what he had worked on with them, getting back into his professional headspace. This time, he had hardly stopped thinking about the family, so he didn’t need to spend much time trying to remember. Getting into a professional headspace, though? That was going to be a challenge.

He decided to cross off the most difficult item on his list first. He wasn’t sure why it was so difficult, since he had been texting him all week, but the prospect of calling Steve, of hearing his voice again after his realisation, had Bucky anxiously looking at the phone, hesitating to hit call.

He took a deep breath, and hit the button, refusing to overthink it any more. The phone rang a couple of times, and Bucky wondered if he should try again later, but then Steve answered.

“Bucky! Hey, hi.” He was slightly out of breath, but Bucky could hear the laughter in his voice.

“Hey Steve. Bad time? I can call back—” Bucky could hear voices in the background — children’s voices — calling his name, and he didn’t try to fight the smile which that brought to his face.

“Nah, it’s fine, we were just playing around. Gimme a sec, okay?” Bucky hummed an affirmative, and he heard Steve’s muffled voice talking to the kids, presumably leaving the room, because a second later the line was much quieter, and Steve was back.

“Right, okay. What’s up?” Bucky was glad he had called, because now at least he had a chance to ease himself back into the feeling of having Steve Rogers talking to him, particularly after his realisation, rather than having to dive right in with a face to face interaction in the house.

“I just wanted to confirm the plan for tomorrow, really. Is there anything happening I should know about?” Steve hummed before replying.

“No, I don’t think so! Charlie has extra dance classes this week, since the recital is coming up but that shouldn’t really affect your stuff. Be prepared to listen to her explaining the routines to you, though.” Bucky laughed.

“I wouldn’t expect any less,” he replied. “So I’ll be over at the usual time?”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you then.”

“Bye Steve.” Steve must have gone back into the room the kids were in as they said their goodbyes, because Bucky heard a distinctly excited voice which he recognised as Teddy’s asking “Is Bucky coming back, daddy?” before the call disconnected.

He felt something uncomfortable settle in his stomach at the sound. He had been thinking about his own job through all of this, but he needed to think of the kids. Crush or not, he would need to move on from this job eventually, and it was unfair to let the children grow so fond of him, particularly when there was still lingering tensions from Peggy’s move.

That thought, more than anything else, helped Bucky to settle into his professional persona the following morning as he drove the now familiar short route to Steve’s house and knocked on the door.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Twelve here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-12)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains some ADORABLE art by Velvetjinx!

_Just think about it_ , Peggy had said on the phone, referring to Steve’s dream of Bucky being part of his life, being part of the family, of Bucky smiling at Steve and the kids as though they were the most important things in the world. Steve had, in fact, thought about little else for the rest of the weekend. It was a lot to process. Sure, he had always known that Bucky was attractive, but the idea that there may be more to his feelings than simply appreciation of his appearance was a new realisation. 

Steve thought about it after Bucky’s call. He had sounded the same as ever, and Steve now recognised the cause of the smile he had never been able to help. The more he thought about it, however, the more he felt a niggling sense of doubt in the back of his mind. 

Because the more he thought about _it_ , the more he reminded himself that he was sort of Bucky’s boss. Sure, Bucky was technically self-employed, and Tony was _technically_ the one actually footing the bill, but Steve did not want to be that skeevy guy who went lusting after the nanny. The idea of that turned his stomach. 

Still though, he couldn’t help but _think_ about it.

He thought about it so much that by the time Bucky rang the doorbell Monday morning, Steve was a bag of nerves over how he would interact with him. It turned out his worry was for nought, though, because after an initial warm smile in greeting, the Bucky who walked in the front door was all professional smiles and cool exterior. Steve wondered when he had learned the difference between Bucky the professional and Bucky the person. 

He wasn’t sure what had prompted Bucky to distance himself like this, but he could only assume it was the same thing which had led to him requesting the week off in the first place. He wondered if maybe Bucky had picked up on the way Steve felt about him, and felt so uncomfortable he needed to take some time away. Steve cringed at the thought.

They spoke briefly after Steve had dropped the older children off at school, and Steve decided to follow Bucky’s lead and keep things professional. He told Bucky everything he had found easy to do alone, and what he had struggled with. They briefly discussed his flare-up from Monday and came up with a few strategies of what to do the next time it happened.

“I know it wasn’t too bad this time, and you were able to get by, but you have to remember it’s okay to call in reinforcements if you get sick again, alright?” Bucky’s professional voice was edging on concerned, and Steve allowed himself to glance up and meet his eyes. 

Steve knew Bucky was being genuine, and he recognised the truth in what he was being told, but he felt irritation spark below the surface nonetheless.

“I know what you mean,” he gritted out, trying to keep his voice even and failing, “but it’s not like I can just phone in sick, can I? I’m a parent, there’s not some sort of substitute who can come take my spot at a moment’s notice. My friends have jobs and responsibilities of their own.” He glanced away, unable to hold Bucky’s gaze any longer. His mind was reeling, and he wanted to keep arguing, but he clenched his jaw and took a breath. Bucky hummed.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Steve looked back up, not having expected an apology. He opened his mouth again, but Bucky stopped him with a shake of his head. “You’re right that you can’t phone in sick, and that you can’t always expect your friends to leave their work, but Steve, those aren’t your only options.”

“Don’t tell me I need a babysitter again,” Steve rolled his eyes, but Bucky’s gaze was firm.

“And why not? What’s wrong with a babysitter? Steve, I want you to ask any of the parents at that school whether or not they have a babysitter, and I guarantee you that they will all say yes.” Steve didn’t say anything, and he was sure his face was doing an excellent impression of Teddy when he was told he should do his homework, but he didn’t budge. He knew he was being unreasonable, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit as much just now.

He tried to think of a way to get out of the line of fire, to avoid this conversation, or at least put it off for a while. He was relieved to see Rosie toddle in, waddling in a familiar way that told Steve she needed to be changed. He scooped her up, carrying her into the other room, and he heard a distinct sigh from Bucky.

“Just, try to think about it, alright? I really do think it would help.” Steve paused in the doorway, and glanced back briefly with a nod before leaving the room properly.

Great, he thought. Another _it_ to think about.

He got very little done during Rosie’s naptime, thinking about Bucky’s not-quite-suggestion carefully. It made sense, and it didn’t even need to be a daily occurrence. He could maybe take a few hours to work, or to go out once or twice a month. He could even get back to the gym; Natasha and Sam had been teasing him over how he must have forgotten everything about gymnastics over the last few years. 

He was fairly sure that running after three kids was enough exercise, but he did miss the gym. They hadn’t been competitive in a long time, but ever since they had been on the gymnastics team in college, the three of them had met up once a month to refresh their muscle memory on the bars or the floor. Natasha, being a gymnastics coach now, always trounced them on every apparatus, but Steve loved it. It reminded him that his body wasn’t his enemy, that he could be graceful and strong even if he occasionally flared up and had to sit out of a session.

He hadn’t been able to join them since Peggy moved. Maybe if he hired a babysitter, he could amend that. He had half made up his mind when Rosie woke up, but he elected not to say anything just yet. He figured that could wait until Bucky was gone — there was no point in bringing a third adult into the house for now, after all.

They ate lunch together, as usual, but it wasn’t the same as it had been before. Like everything else since Bucky returned, there was a tension between them which Steve couldn’t put his finger on. The day passed at a crawl until it was time to collect Charlie and Teddy, and their boisterous reunion with Bucky was a welcome relief from the weird tension which had been lingering in the air all day.

Bucky transformed when he was with the kids. Steve watched as he helped Teddy with his homework, and when he high fived Charlie after she showed him her dance for the upcoming recital. He was open, happy, and _himself_ in a way he hadn’t been all day. 

They played together while Steve cooked dinner, and he kept having to shake himself out of a daydream to prevent the stir fry from sticking to the pan and burning. Bucky was clearly in his element, playing the part of the villain with aplomb, and screaming dramatically when Teddy finally caught him in the arm with his foam sword, clutching his arm and wailing in defeat.

As the game unfolded, Steve kept watching, forgetting the stir fry entirely as Bucky begged for mercy and Teddy gave in, collapsing on top of Bucky in a fit of giggles. Bucky swept him up in a bear hug and swung him around gently before setting him down. Bucky stood with his back to the kitchen and to Steve, and Steve felt his chest constrict. He busied himself with the stir fry — which was definitely sticking, damn it — as soon as Bucky started to turn around, and he felt the skin on his face turn pink when Bucky looked back at him.

He dished up the meal and called the kids in. He had set five places, assuming that Bucky would eat with them as he had before, but as he called he was suddenly struck with nerves in case that had also changed. Thankfully, Bucky sat in his usual place at the table and thanked Steve for the food.

They ate happily, once Charlie had finished turning her nose up at the broccoli on her plate, which she claimed was burnt. Of course, it _was_ burnt, but Bucky convinced her to eat it by exclaiming with a jealous tone how he wished he had gotten more of the crispy bits. It was this exchange — small and insignificant as it was — which cemented in place the growing feeling he had had ever since he had woken up from his dream.

Steve wanted this.

He wanted to spend his days with Bucky. Wanted to sit down for dinner and talk about their days, to play heroes and villains, to negotiate vegetable intake and wrangle homework together. He wanted Bucky by his side at recitals and little league games and book releases. He wanted dinners like this, and evenings on the sofa when the kids were in bed, and he wanted breakfast and coffee the next morning.

Damn it, but he wanted Bucky.

~*~*~

Bucky was proud of his ability to maintain a professional distance from Steve on his first day back, though it was difficult; he almost faltered right away, when Steve had answered the door with an anxious smile and it was so adorable that Bucky wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug him. But he managed to find his restraint, and busied himself with work. Steve had looked somewhat taken aback, but Bucky was relieved that he picked up on Bucky’s approach and followed his lead. 

He even managed to make some progress on the babysitter problem. While Steve was still being stubborn about it, he had at least agreed to consider the idea. Bucky took it as a win. The morning was nothing short of awkward from then on, however. Rosie was a handful, but Bucky could see that Steve had really taken his advice to heart, and there was not much to be done with her. 

Bucky kept having to tear his gaze away from Steve’s, and he ended up writing completely pointless notes for things he had already done in order to appear busy and prevent himself from lapsing back into the habits he had gotten into before they had taken their break.

By the time Steve left to collect Charlie and Teddy, Bucky was wound so tight that he was ready to burst. He took the short time alone to gather his thoughts. This was clearly not working, but he held out hope that it was just a little first-day-back awkwardness. He could still be his usual self with the kids, so he resolved to spending more time with them than with Steve for the rest of the day, and hopefully he would be able to regroup and make another plan for the following day.

Steve returned with the kids, and it was a little better. It wasn’t just the two of them and a toddler anymore — there were now three children vying for their attention and Bucky threw himself into their games with gusto. He played the part of a monster, then a bear, and then a supervillain. Steve’s kids really enjoyed playing as heroes, and it didn’t take much thought to figure out where they had gotten that from.

Bucky was in his element, even when it was time for homework. He was engaged and spent time asking the kids what they were learning about, and whether they liked it. The time flew, and before he knew it Steve was making dinner, and the kids wanted to play heroes and villains again. Teddy plucked up a sword made of foam, while Charlie used the lid of a toy bin as a shield. Rosie didn’t fully understand the game, but was happy to run around after her older siblings, laughing uproariously and jumping into their “battles” with gusto. Charlie looked like she was growing irritated by her sister’s antics, so Bucky picked up Rosie and threw her over his shoulder like a sack.

“I’ve got a hostage! You better not try to rescue her!” Charlie and Teddy exchanged a look and changed their angle. They met his eyes with twin expressions of determination, eyes narrowed and stance wide. Teddy held up his sword while Charlie put her shield in front of them both. They began to advance towards him, and he backed away until he fell back onto the sofa with an exaggerated cry.

Rosie wriggled out of his arms and ran back behind her siblings, and Teddy took this as his opportunity to attack with the foam sword. Bucky tried to fight back by swatting the sword away, but he eventually gave in, flopping back on the sofa, exhausted and begging for mercy. Teddy looked back at Charlie, who was defending Rosie with her shield. She nodded, and Teddy accepted Bucky’s plea, jumping on top of him and giggling. Bucky picked him up and swung him around before depositing him back on the floor. 

There was a tingle at the back of Bucky’s neck, and he got the feeling he was being watched. He had deliberately kept his back to Steve while they played, but he turned now. Steve was busy in the kitchen, and Bucky almost questioned whether he had imagined the feeling of being watched. Something about the faint hint of pink on Steve’s cheeks told him it may not have entirely been his imagination.

Dinner was much easier to get through than lunch had been, even if it seemed as though Steve had slightly burned the vegetables. There was a strange moment where Bucky thought Steve must have zoned out for a minute, and Teddy had been indignant that his joke hadn’t gotten the reception he felt it deserved. 

“Hm? What is it, Teddy?” 

“I was telling a joke and you didn’t laugh!” Teddy looked outraged and Steve apologised profusely, asking him to tell it again. Bucky wasn’t able to resist the laugh that crept out of him in response to Steve’s expression at having been caught daydreaming, but he hoped it at least looked like he was laughing at Teddy’s joke. Bucky was grinning behind a forkful of rice and vegetables, looking between Steve and Teddy in amusement.

“I _said,_ what is a kangaroo’s favourite candy?” Steve shook his head to indicate he didn’t know, at which Teddy proudly announced “Lolli _hops!”_ and collapsed into laughter at his own joke.

Steve laughed out loud, looking at Bucky with an almost shy expression which Bucky wasn’t sure what to make of.

Teddy looked incredibly pleased with himself, now that both adults were laughing at his joke, and went back to eating. Bucky noticed Steve sneaking glances at him as they ate, looking away with a blush every time Bucky caught him. He listened to Charlie’s school stories and kept an eye on Rosie to make sure she wasn’t making too much of a mess, but Bucky felt some part of Steve’s attention on him the entire time, and it felt electric.

For a moment, Bucky half forgot why he had been keeping his distance in the first place. When the kids went to call Peggy after they had eaten, it was second nature for Bucky to grab some tea bags and hold them out to Steve, until Steve walked in and he realised that was not something he would do with any other client. Steve did look happy to see him doing so, though, and he found himself helpless to resist that smile, dropping the bags into mugs and letting Steve brew the tea. 

He tried to work, he really did, but Steve went and got a sketchpad to work on something, and he always got this little furrow between his brows while he sketched, his tongue poked out adorably between his lips. Bucky could watch him like this for hours. He had never seen Steve this enraptured in a drawing, however, and when he looked up almost half an hour later, he seemed surprised to find that any time had passed at all. 

Bucky was so incredibly fucked.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Thirteen here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-13)


	14. Chapter 14

After dinner, once the table had been cleared and the dishes put in the dishwasher, Steve called out to the kids, even though he knew it was later than they would normally call Peggy.

“Hey, Charlie? Teddy?” he called out, and the pair looked up from their activities questioningly “You all were so busy before dinner, you never called mom!” Their eyes went wide, and Charlie ran to grab the tablet and call her right away, Teddy joining her.

Rosie looked sleepy. Steve would normally be getting her to bed by now, but he figured she could stay up a little longer to talk to Peggy, even if it meant she would be cranky later.

Peggy picked up straight away, and the kids immediately apologised to her for their late call. Steve leaned into frame and echoed their sentiment.

“It’s alright darlings, I know today must have been busy, with Bucky back and all,” she replied, and the way her eyes drifted to Steve, along with her tone of voice, told him that she would be expecting a full debrief on that subject later.

Steve got out of dodge, letting them catch up and heading into the kitchen, where he was met with a slightly surprised looking Bucky, standing by the bubbling kettle and averting his eyes carefully, as though he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t be.

Over the weeks Bucky had been with them, they had developed a routine of sorts, while the kids were talking to Peggy. They would boil the kettle, one of them would pick a tea at random which Steve would brew, and they would drink it together in silence while the sounds of voices and children’s laughter drifted in from the next room. 

Sometimes, Bucky would write notes while they sat together, or Steve would grab a sketch pad and work on some outlines for the projects he was working on. Other times, there would be housework to finish and Steve would wipe down countertops or fold laundry at the table, with Bucky alternately helping him and ignoring his pleading looks in favour of pulling out his laptop and typing something or other. On one occasion, they had attempted to play a “dots and boxes” tournament in the margins of Steve’s sketchpad, but that idea had been nixed quickly, when Steve had loudly exclaimed “ _God damn it, you jerk!”_ when Bucky had beaten him for the third time in a row, and the kids had all rushed in to see what had happened.

Bucky had put on the kettle seemingly out of habit and was holding two tea bags when Steve walked in. Steve met his eyes with a tentative smile and reached up to the cupboard to retrieve the mugs, grabbing two at random and handing them out as a peace offering, even though he was still unsure what was causing the tension. To his immense relief, Bucky smiled and dropped in the tea bags.

The tea brewed, and Steve grabbed the sketch pad from where he had left it in his office, noticing that Bucky had taken out his laptop.

As they sat, mugs steaming, Steve stared at the blank page in front of him, trying to visualise the final scene from the book he was supposed to be illustrating. He sketched out the picnic blanket, and the food items scattered about, but then his pencil seemed to bypass his brain, and began to sketch out the scene from his dream. He kept the faces blurry, indistinct, as the shapes took form in front of him, the contentment of the family on the blanket evident from their body language. 

When he looked back up from his page, Bucky was looking at him quizzically. Steve blinked, not quite sure how long he had been lost in his work. He took a sip of his tea, realising now that it was slightly cooled and flushing. Bucky looked like he wanted to say something, but was holding back.

“What is it?” Steve asked, and Bucky blinked.

“Nothing, just. You looked really into whatever you’re working on. What’s it for?” Steve glanced between Bucky and the drawing, and closed the sketchpad with a shrug.

“Just a sketch, ideas for a spread in a new picture book. I got carried away, I guess.” Steve could feel the flush on his face, but he tried to play it off as simply embarrassment at getting carried away over a simple drawing. Bucky opened his mouth to speak, but just then the kids came in with the tablet, having finished their talk with Peggy. Steve could see she was tired, even on the small screen, so he arranged to call her the following morning, when she would be on her lunch break, and let her go. 

He made sure the sketch pad was obscured as the evening wore on, but he felt the pull of it constantly. Bucky didn’t stay long once the children were in bed, which was unsurprising considering the awkwardness of the day. Steve was disappointed to see him go, all the same.

He went into his studio with the sketch pad, and took in the drawing. He took a deep breath, and grabbed his watercolours. If he wasn’t going to be able to stop thinking about it, he might as well finish it. It didn’t take long, the colours were abstract and flowed into each other naturally, capturing the soft tones and blurry edges of his dream.

When he finished, he set the page aside to dry. The paper was curling slightly; he hadn’t been using the proper paper for a watercolour painting, but he couldn’t stop looking at it. He snapped a picture on his phone, and texted it to Peggy — the only person who would understand what it meant.

> [Steve] I thought about it, by the way.

She didn’t reply, but he hadn’t expected her to, knowing she would be asleep, her phone on silent as it usually was. He took his meds and went to sleep, dreaming the same dream he had spent the whole day dwelling on, and waking with a smile on his face before remembering it wasn’t real.

He called Peggy as he had promised the night before.

“Oh, Steve,” she picked up without a greeting. “You poor, sweet fool.”

“Hey Pegs,” he replied grimly. “Guess you got my text, huh?” She hummed an affirmative, and paused before answering.

“How are you feeling?" she asked, and Steve sighed.

"I'm fucking terrified, Pegs," he confessed. "This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to come here, help me out, give a little stability, and then go. I wasn’t supposed to fall in — to fall head over heels for him.” 

“We don’t get to choose these things, Steve. You and I both know that,” Peggy consoled him. There was silence for a few moments, until Peggy broke it with a question. “What will you do?” 

Steve mulled it over, knowing she wouldn’t accept anything but the truth.

“I don’t think I should do anything. At least not now. He was distant yesterday, and I got the feeling there was something bothering him. If he’s uncomfortable, I don’t want to make that worse.” It hurt to say, but he was sure it was the right thing.

“I see where you’re coming from, but I want you to promise me something,” she responded, and Steve agreed without hesitation. “I want you to promise that you won’t let him go without at least trying to find out if he feels the same. Don’t sacrifice your potential happiness because you’re scared.” 

Tears pricked at Steve’s eyes, and he sniffed.

“I promise, Pegs.” She gave him a moment, and then carried on in a chipper, professional tone to signal the end of that thread of conversation.

“Well, better go and get those children out of bed, or you’ll be late to school.” Steve smiled, knowing she was giving him an out.

“You’re right. Say hi to Angie for me.” 

“Of course. Bye Steve.”

“Bye Peg. And thanks.” 

She hung up and Steve took a moment to gather himself before going to rouse the children for school.

~*~*~

When Bucky got home from Steve’s after his first day back, he didn’t hesitate to throw himself into bed face down.

“What am I gonna do, Alpine?” he whined into his pillow. Alpine jumped onto the bed and curled up next to him with a meow.

“You’re right. I need to get past this. But Alpine, he’s just so…” He trailed off, thinking of Steve’s smile, his eyes, his demeanour with his kids. The way he focused on his art and forgot everything else.

“He’s amazing,” he finished, turning his head to see that Alpine was grooming herself, back turned to him.

“Yeah, I get it. I’m being ridiculous, I know. But I can’t help it!” She turned to look at him, and then resumed her grooming.

“I know, I’m a grown ass man mooning over a crush. I should just take it a day at a time. Clearly I’m incapable of treating him like a normal client, but maybe I can keep him as a friend when this is over?” he asked his cat, and her tail twitched, which he took to mean _that’s the most rational thing you have said in weeks._

Smiling to himself, he drifted off to sleep and woke with a renewed sense of purpose, going to the Rogers house and greeting Steve with something a little closer to his natural smile.

Bucky let himself relax a little around Steve, who was more natural with Bucky in turn and it was a welcoming change from the previous day. It wasn’t quite the same as what they had before, but it was good.

They laughed together when Rosie managed to get mashed banana in her eyelashes while eating her lunch, and while Steve worked during her nap, Bucky managed to take semi-productive notes, though they were more sentimental than his usual professional standard.

Bucky took homework duty again today, while Steve retreated to his studio, having expressed a need to get a little bit of extra work done before his conference call with the author the following day.

“Wouldn’t it be great to have someone who you could call in to watch the kids when you need to get extra work done after I’m gone?” Bucky teased, ignoring the twinge of regret at the thought of leaving. It was testament to how quickly they had retreated back into their old banter that Steve didn’t bristle at the suggestion of hiring a babysitter this time, but just rolled his eyes fondly and shook his head.

“If you think you’re being subtle, Buck, you aren’t.” He laughed as he left the room.

Surprisingly, Teddy was the first to settle into his homework, while Charlie stared at her open book, pencil in hand but not actually doing the work.

“What’s up, Charlie?” Bucky asked, when it became clear there was something on her mind.

“Nothing,” she mumbled, with a tone that said there was definitely something.

“You know if there’s something wrong at school, or if you’re upset about something, you can always talk to your dad, right?” She shrugged sullenly.

“Why can’t I talk to you?” she asked, and Bucky furrowed his brow.

“Well, of course you can talk to me, but if there’s something wrong, your dad will want to know,” he explained. She was quiet for a little while, thoughtful, but then she nodded and started her homework. Bucky waited patiently while she worked until Teddy had finished his homework. Bucky checked it over and gave him a high five, and he ran off to play again.

As soon as Teddy had gone, Charlie put her pencil down and made eye contact with Bucky. He held her gaze, taking her seriously in spite of the amusement he felt at the determined expression on her little face.

“Are you gonna leave again?” she asked, voice firm, and Bucky sighed.

“Yeah, kid. I gotta go help some other kids, and then your dad will be able to take care of you guys on his own,” he explained. She narrowed her eyes and fiddled with the edge of her page.

“But what if we don’t want you to go?” She looked so vulnerable, so small, that Bucky felt his heart break.

“You guys are great, and I would really love to stay,” he replied honestly. “But I can’t.” Her bottom lip quivered and she hung her head. There was silence, and she picked up her pencil, though she didn’t start working again. Bucky wished he could have told her something else, but as difficult as it was, it would be so much worse if he gave her any false hope now.

“Daddy was sad, before,” she said suddenly, and Bucky frowned. “He didn’t wanna tell us but he was. And he’s happy when you’re here, I know he is. I don’t want him to be sad again.” Bucky had to look away, then. He cleared his throat, feeling a lump welling up, and took a moment before he answered.

“I don’t know much about what your dad was like before I got here,” he confessed, choosing his words carefully, “but I know he loves you and he could never really be sad with you here, and Teddy and Rosie. I think he was just tired before, sweetheart.” Bucky hoped that was true. He hoped that Steve would be alright, because he couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving causing pain to the other man, or to the family. Charlie nodded at his words, though she didn’t look convinced.

“We’re really gonna miss you,” she said finally, blinking up at him, and oh; she had tears in her eyes. Bucky, as someone who had now spent over a decade devoting his life to children, immediately stopped thinking in terms of himself and his own feelings. There was a child in front of him, a child who had clearly been upset for a while, but who had been holding back until now. Bucky reached out to her, and she followed, falling into his arms and burying her head in his shoulder. He stroked her hair as she sobbed, mumbling soft words of comfort.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s okay. It’s okay to be sad, alright? Just let it out.” She held him tighter, and he continued.

“It’s really hard to say goodbye to someone, but I promise it’ll be alright. You’ve got a great dad right here, and your mom loves you so much. I’ll miss you guys a lot, and it’s okay to miss me too, but it’ll be okay.” Her sobs had started to diminish slightly, and she sniffed. Bucky grabbed the tissue he always had on his person and handed it to her to dry her eyes. 

Just then, Steve came back into the room, and took in the scene in front of him. Bucky met his eyes over Charlie’s head when he looked like he was going to ask what was happening. He shook his head and mouthed _I’ll tell you later._ He knew Steve would want to talk to her about this, but in his professional opinion, she needed a little time before she would be able to share again.

“You alright, sweetie?” he asked her, as she handed back the tissue, which Bucky took — long past being grossed out by handling damp tissues at this stage in his career. She nodded with a final sniff, and spotted her dad.

Steve smiled at her sweetly. 

“Charlie, why don’t you put away your books and we can watch a movie before we call mom?” 

“But I’m not done with my math homework,” she protested, and Steve took a step forward to look at what she had done.

“You have half of it done. I can write a note for your teacher so you won’t get in trouble, but if you want to get it done, Bucky and I will sit with you and help. It’s up to you, alright?” Charlie sat at her book, and looked at the page in deliberation. Bucky knew she would still be too upset to focus on her work, but he also knew Charlie, and how much she loved school. Any other kid would jump at the chance to skip out on homework, but not her.

“Maybe I can go back to it after dinner?” she asked tentatively, after a few moments. Steve nodded. 

“We can work with that. Put it away for now, and if you’re too tired later I can write that note, okay?” She nodded, and cleared away. Bucky watched the two of them, taking in their movements and expressions. Steve was concerned, and Bucky knew their conversation later would be difficult, but necessary.

“Will you watch with us?” Charlie asked Bucky, and there was no way in hell he would deny her that. 

“Of course. Go get your brother and sister and pick a movie, alright?”

She nodded and ran off, and Steve turned to Bucky, a question on his lips.

“Later,” he promised. “I’ll stay after bedtime.” Steve looked appeased, but the tension never left his body all through _The Little Mermaid_ and for the rest of the evening, until the kids were in bed and it was just Steve and Bucky.

They sat at the kitchen table, mugs of tea in front of them, and Bucky explained what had happened. Steve’s brow furrowed as he told the story, but he didn’t interrupt.

Bucky watched him carefully, seeing how his expression fell when he heard how Charlie had seen his sadness, and then the inscrutable look at Bucky’s explanation of what had led to her starting to cry. When he finished, Steve was quiet for a while, and not for the first time, Bucky was struck by the similarity between Steve and his kids. Where Teddy had inherited his stubbornness and his laugh, this thoughtful vulnerability was almost identical to Charlie.

Bucky waited, knowing he would speak when he was ready.

“I fucked up,” was all he came out with, and it wasn’t what Bucky was expecting. He continued. “You said you didn’t usually do long contracts, I guess this is why. We’ve gotten so used to you being around, it really will be difficult when you go.” Steve wasn’t meeting his eyes, staring into his mug, and Bucky’s heart clenched at the use of “we”, but he refused to let himself dwell on it.

“Don’t blame yourself, Steve. If it’s the extended contract that’s the problem, then we’re both at fault. Hell, blame Tony if that’s the case.” That got a laugh from Steve, an almost imperceptible huff which Bucky only noticed because it disturbed the steam rising from his mug.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Do you really think she’ll be okay? She took Peggy’s move hard, I don’t want her to — I just want her to be happy.” Bucky once again took time to gather his thoughts before he answered.

“She’ll be alright, I promise. It’s good she was able to talk about it with me now, because we can address it. She’s a good kid, and she knows she’s loved. That’s really all that matters.” Steve nodded and took a sip of his tea. His face was still tight, but his posture had relaxed somewhat, and Bucky counted it as a win.

“Natasha thought I was lonely,” Steve said then, out of the blue, and Bucky almost choked.

“You don’t ha—” he began, but Steve shook his head.

“She was always trying to set me up, after Pegs moved. I never agreed, because I was just so overwhelmed. I think Charlie might have picked up on it and thought the same.” Bucky wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but he let him speak.

“When you got here, and things got easier, maybe she connected the two, and then the thought of you leaving…” And then Bucky got it.

“She thought it would go back to the way it was,” he finished Steve’s thought, feeling horrible for wishing there was some truth to it, that Steve could possibly feel the same way he did, but he fought it back. He knew, regardless of whatever he and Steve had between them, that he had managed to help them. He knew that Steve would be fine with or without him.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Steve looked hopeless, and Bucky reached out instinctively to lend a comforting touch.

“Just talk to her. I told her everything will be alright, but it’ll be better coming from you.” Steve nodded, and they finished their tea in silence.

Bucky left not long after, but Steve stopped him at the door, pulling him into a hug. Bucky froze, before melting into the embrace.

“Thanks, Buck. I can’t begin to thank you enough.” Steve sounded choked up, and Bucky pulled away, feigning nonchalance. 

“I’m just doing my job, buddy. I’m happy to help.” Steve looked like he saw through the bluff, but let him go.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Bright and early.” Bucky got into his car and drove off. His sweater was still slightly damp from Charlie’s tears, and he couldn’t shake the memory of Steve’s hug the entire way home.

God, but saying goodbye this time was going to be torture.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Fourteen here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-14)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quietly adds a tag I forgot about at first...

Steve was wrung out after his conversation with Charlie. She had still been upset, and they had both shed a few tears by the time they were through. He had done his best to reassure her that he was fine, that she didn’t need to worry about him, and he hoped it had sunk in by the end. They wound up cuddled closely together, and after a while Teddy and Rosie had found them and joined in. It was actually pretty nice.

Over the next few days, the things Charlie had said lingered with him. Ultimately, he knew that she just didn’t want him to be lonely, and if he was being honest, he was a little worried about that deep down too. Bucky being there had been like a balm for his loneliness and he had felt the difference of having another adult in the house over these past few weeks.

But the contract was running out fast, and he really only had another week with Bucky before the other man would be moving on to the next job, the next family. Steve had come to terms with his feelings for Bucky stretching beyond the strictly professional. His subconscious had made sure that he wouldn’t forget it, showing him some variation of the same dream every night since Bucky had returned to them.

He was self-aware enough to realise that once Bucky left, he was going to find it difficult. He would be upset. He would emerge from his work when Rosie woke from her nap, and feel a pang when he remembered there was nobody waiting in the kitchen to share soup or chicken salad with. He _would_ be lonely again. It might not be the same as before — he knew he could handle things now, at least — but he would still feel it. And he didn’t want to go back there. Didn’t want his kids to _see_ him there _._

It was Friday night; Bucky had gone home for the weekend and the children were all in bed when he caved in. He opened his phone, scrolling until he found the right text conversation, and sent the message before he could overthink it too much.

> [Steve] Alright, fine. Wanna come over tomorrow?
> 
> [Natasha] Finally. See you at 3.

He sighed. He didn’t know if this was the best move, but he needed to do something. The following day was dry and balmy, so he decided to bring the kids to the park for the morning. Part of him hoped that he would see Bucky there with his niece, and his eyes flicked up whenever he saw a pair of blonde pigtails or dark curls, just in case, but he was always disappointed. 

Steve almost backed out that afternoon, when the kids were busy playing in the living room and he sat with Natasha in the kitchen. Then he remembered how his mind had acted at the park, and his resolve hardened.

“It’s not a big deal, Steve, I promise. You’ll go out, eat dinner, talk, and then decide if that’s something you would like to do again.” Steve grimaced.

“You make it sound simple, but you aren’t a divorced parent of three,” he pointed out, unable to resist a little pushback, and she raised her hands defensively. 

“You said you wanted to do this, so do it. I’m doing the hard work, all you have to do is show up and look pretty.” He nodded, reluctantly. 

“Yeah, alright. I’ve already agreed to this, I’ll stop putting up a fight. Just tell me when and where.” She grinned and sat back in her chair, sipping her coffee with a smug expression. 

“Wednesday at eight. That new Italian place near my gym. Wear your grey sweater.” Steve laughed in disbelief.

“Of course you’ve already set it up. Of course.” She grinned at him with a shrug. He had never expected any less of course, knowing she would have reached out her feelers within seconds of him sending the text, and he was grateful. She wanted him to be happy — had been dropping hints for months now, mentioning her single friends when there was really no way they were relevant to the conversation.

He had always brushed her off, convincing himself he didn’t need to go out, didn’t need anyone. He had to be at home for the kids. But it was time now. He smiled at her.

“Wednesday it is. Can you take the kids?” She grimaced, and his face fell. 

“Sorry, I have to work until late that night. Can you ask Sam? I know Wednesday is a weird night for a date, but the guy has a busy schedule, so…” Steve waved his hand.

“I’ll figure something out. I’m sure Sam can come over for a few hours.” They left the conversation at that, moving on to other more mundane subjects. Steve appreciated the distraction, and he hoped he would be able to make it through to Wednesday without overthinking so hard he backed out.

Sam, as it turned out, could not spare a few hours to babysit.

"Shit, I'm sorry. It's my mom's birthday Wednesday, I’m heading home for a few days. If you can reschedule for another day, you know I'd be happy to take the kids."

Steve declined, knowing Natasha wouldn't have picked such an inconvenient day if there had been any other option. He mulled it over, trying to figure out a plan. Tony was out, considering Pepper was out of town and Steve wasn't sure Tony would know what to do with three kids under ten and no other adult help. 

The idea came to him late on Tuesday, finally remembering the thing he was supposed to have been considering all week.

"Hey, Bucky?" he asked as soon as the idea came to him, while the kids were talking with Peggy. Bucky looked up from his notes curiously. "If I were looking for a babysitter for tomorrow night, where would I go to find one?" Bucky squinted at him, before screwing up his face in thought.

"A day's notice is a bit of a tough call, especially if you don't already know the person. Usually I'd recommend a neighborhood teenager, but since it's a school night, that's not ideal." Steve sighed.

"Yeah, you're right. I should probably call Natasha and cancel. I'm sure she can figure out something else. It's best not to rush finding a sitter." Steve couldn't say he felt disappointed at the thought of cancelling the date, but he was a little mad at himself for self sabotaging so soon into the process by delaying the search for a babysitter. Bucky looked thoughtful. 

"How long would it be for?" he asked and Steve shrugged.

"Not long, I imagine I'd be home by ten, maybe ten thirty?" Bucky nodded, seemingly conflicted by something. Steve said nothing, thinking over how he would phrase his message to Natasha.

"I could watch them, if it's not too late? It isn't really in my job description, but…" Bucky trailed off with an almost shy shrug, and Steve looked up at him in wonder.

"Really? Thank you so much!" Steve laughed in relief. "I genuinely think Natasha would have kicked my ass if I backed down from another date she set me up on." Bucky's expression changed, lips turning downward and eyes widening momentarily at Steve's words. It was gone as soon as it appeared, however.

"Oh, it's a, uhh, a date, huh?" Steve felt a flush spread over his cheeks as he smiled sheepishly. He tried not to read anything into Bucky's reaction.

"She thought it'd be good for me. To be more… social, I guess. After what happened with Charlie last week, I sort of came around to it." Bucky nodded, face softening. His hand moved and Steve thought for a moment he was going to reach out to him, but he just picked up his mug of tea and took a sip.

"Glad to hear it. I'm happy to help this once. I'll show you some good sites for booking sitters further in advance before… before I go." They lapsed into silence then, until the children ran in from the living room to thrust the tablet in Steve's face and Bucky drained his tea, standing to go "play dinosaurs" at Teddy’s behest. 

Steve perched on the edge of Teddy’s bed that night, holding out two picture books to choose from.

“Which story would you like?” Teddy screwed up his face in thought.

“Can I have both?” Steve shook his head. They were up late today, since Steve had been too distracted to notice the time until he saw that Charlie was yawning behind her hand.

“Sorry buddy, only one story tonight.” Teddy frowned, and Steve knew he was going into bargain mode.

“Okay. If I pick Gruffalo tonight, can I have Bear Hunt tomorrow? And all the actions?” Steve smiled at him.

“You’ll have to ask Bucky that question, since he’ll be the one reading to you tomorrow night.” Teddy’s eyes grew round.

“Really? Why?”

“Daddy’s gonna be out for a while, so Bucky’s taking care of you guys.” A grin split Teddy’s face, but then he grew serious.

“I don’t think Bucky knows the actions.” Teddy's voice was full of concern and Steve smiled, ruffling his hair fondly.

“I guess you’ll have to teach him, then!” he suggested, and Teddy nodded solemnly, as though he had been given a task of the utmost importance.

“Okay. I’ll teach Bucky bear hunt. Can I have The Gruffalo tonight then? _With_ the voices.” Steve agreed, picking up the book in question and opening the first page. He had quickly discovered that voices were not only imperative for bedtime stories, but that they had to be consistent. Any deviation in tone would result in a demand to start over and to “do it _properly_ this time”.

Sometimes, when he had had a long day and was tired, he grumbled at having to read the same line twenty times before it was deemed sufficiently in character. But he had to admit it was fun, just being silly and letting loose. Particularly now that Charlie was reading for herself, preferring to sit and read a chapter of her latest favourite novel, he relished these moments with Teddy, knowing they would be gone all too soon.

 _“A Mouse took a stroll through a deep dark wood,”_ Steve began to read, being as dramatic as possible as he read the story which he practically knew by heart by now. In the early pages, Teddy giggled along with him, gasping and pointing at the pictures when he spotted a creature hiding in the background. 

Steve kept up his own energy in reading, even as Teddy became quieter and started to drift off. He closed the book at the end and pressed a kiss to Teddy’s little forehead before putting the book back on the shelf and switching off the main light. He knocked gently on Charlie’s door as he passed, reminding her to stop reading and get to sleep and then made his way downstairs.

“I heard that up there, you know? I really don’t think I can compete at bedtime tomorrow night,” Bucky quipped as he entered the living room, and Steve laughed.

“Don’t worry. If I know my son, he’ll have you rehearsing all day long. You’ll get the hang of it.” Steve mimed one of the actions for _We’re Going on A Bear Hunt_ and then cringed, rubbing the back of his neck _._ “Charlie came up with them when she was only about three, I think, and she wouldn’t listen to the story unless Peggy and I did them with her. Teddy picked them up as soon as he was old enough, and I have a feeling Rosie won’t be far behind.” 

“I guess I’ll have to learn them,” Bucky smiled, but there was something wistful about it. He shook his head and stood. “I should head off, though, unless there’s anything you wanted to go over?” Steve shook his head, but confirmed with Bucky that he would be able to stay tomorrow — apologising profusely, which Bucky brushed off easily.

“I promise it’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

They had arranged that Bucky would start later the following day to make up for having to stay late, and Steve hoped that he was imagining the hint of something resembling unhappiness on his face as he left. The last thing he wanted was to take advantage of Bucky in his position, and he couldn’t help but feel this was overstepping some line they shouldn’t cross. 

He tried to push everything out of his mind, focusing on getting some work done. He always felt inspired after reading a book with his kids, seeing how they responded to the illustrations and wanting to create something which would inspire equal amounts of enjoyment for other families. He painted into the night, managing not to think about the following day— at least for a short time.

Wednesday passed in a rush, between a solo school run and ferrying back and forth to after school clubs. Steve hardly noticed the time until Bucky looked at him questioningly, asking if he should be getting ready to go. Steve looked at his phone, startling when he realised it was only a half hour until he had to leave and he was wearing more mashed carrots and broccoli than actual clothes.

“Go — shower, change. I’ll put Rosie down for the night.”

Steve smiled gratefully, before heading upstairs to rush through a shower and pull a comb through his hair. He spent five minutes squinting in the mirror, wondering if he should shave the beard which he had accidentally started growing recently, before realising he didn’t have time even if he wanted to. He pulled on the jeans and sweater Natasha had all but ordered him to wear as she left the house that weekend, grateful he at least didn’t need to stress over that decision. He had a feeling she had known exactly how he would be feeling right about now, and had pointed out the outfit more in consideration for his frazzled nerves than any actual concern for what he was wearing.

He made it downstairs in record time, stopping in the doorway to the living room to say goodbye.

“Well, how do I look?” Charlie turned to him, resting a hand on her hip and scrutinising him from head to toe. 

“You’ll do.” She nodded before going back to her game. Teddy just shrugged, hardly looking at him as he tried to demonstrate to Bucky the correct way to run from a bear. Bucky wasn’t paying attention, however, his eyes fixed on Steve, mouth hanging slightly open. Steve felt himself flush, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, and Bucky cleared his throat.

“Yeah, you look good, Rogers. Knock ‘em dead.” He smiled somewhat stiffly as he spoke and turned back to Teddy. Steve said goodbye with a furrowed brow, heading out to the car after kissing the kids on the forehead and waving awkwardly at Bucky. He felt off all the way to the restaurant as he drove, feeling as though he was somehow making a mistake.

The date itself was… not great, if he was being honest. The guy was easy enough on the eye, but the way he acted seriously rubbed Steve the wrong way. He kept calling back the waitress to question her about the food, and even tried to send back their side dishes for being _too hot._ Steve suffered through it, making sure to smile apologetically every time she was called back over and leaving an extra large tip when it came to pay the bill, which they agreed to split.

It was awkward as they left the restaurant, and Steve was glad when he was back in his car on the way home. He breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled in, smiling at the light on in the front room. He unlocked the door and walked in, directing his steps towards the source of the light. He froze on the spot at the sight in front of him, unable to tear his eyes away.

 _We’re Going on a Bear Hunt_ was open on the floor, surrounded by scattered toys and game pieces. That wasn’t what caught his attention, however, because Bucky was in the middle of the sofa, Charlie and Teddy both curled into him on either side. All three seemed to be fast asleep. Steve’s heart swelled at the sight, and he knew instinctively that he wouldn’t be agreeing to any more blind dates for a while. 

He cleared his throat softly, and Bucky woke up, blinking blearily and flushing when he realised what had happened. He didn’t budge though, and the children slept on. 

Steve made his way closer and gently picked up Teddy, who barely reacted other than to mould himself to Steve’s side. Steve began to carry him towards the stairs, leaving Bucky to do the same with Charlie. When the children were safely tucked in, Bucky smiled bashfully at Steve.

“Sorry, they wanted to wait up for you. I figured I’d let them fall asleep on the sofa then carry them up, but I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

Steve gestured towards the kitchen with a smile, heading to the fridge and taking out a beer, offering one to Bucky.

“Don’t apologise. You looked like you needed it,” Steve reassured him; and then, because he was waving away the beer, “You’re clearly exhausted; I can’t let you drive home now anyway. I’ll sleep in the nursery with Rosie and you can take my bed.” Bucky hesitated, only giving in when a yawn proved Steve’s point.

“Yeah, I guess you might be right. Alpine should be good for the night, but I'll need to head home early to feed her or my curtains will be toast.” Steve chuckled.

“Alpine’s your cat, right?” Bucky nodded.

“Yeah, she’s a jerk but she keeps me company.” Bucky closed his mouth abruptly, taking a drink from the beer before changing the subject. “How was tonight, anyway?” Steve shrugged, relaying some of the highlights and enjoying Bucky’s outraged reactions.

“What, he couldn’t have just blown on them? Who sends something back for being _too warm?”_

Steve gestured in agreement. “Yeah, so I guess I’m not a ‘dating’ kind of guy. At least Natasha can’t bug me about it anymore.”

Bucky hummed in what could have been agreement, and they both fell silent for a while, drinking their beers.

“So you don’t date at all, then?” Bucky asked, and Steve noticed he was picking at the label of his bottle. Steve shrugged.

“I guess not. Peggy and I didn’t really date, we were friends for a while and then we just sort of drifted together, there wasn’t any of that uncomfortable _getting to know you_ stuff. Since the split—" He paused, gesturing vaguely around him. “You saw what I was like a few weeks ago. I wasn’t thinking about that kind of thing, really.” Bucky nodded, then finally looked up from his bottle to look Steve in the eye.

“What about now?” he asked, and Steve frowned in thought. Wasn’t that just the million-dollar question?

“Now, I’m not so sure. Seeing Peggy and Angie so happy, and then meet—” Steve stopped himself before he said _meeting you_ , because that was probably more honest than he thought he really should be right at that moment. “Well, after everything else these last few weeks.” He looked down at the table with a smile.

“I guess I’m interested in giving it a chance; putting myself out there again. I don’t wanna be lonely — not like I was before.” He managed to look back up, and the look on Bucky’s face was almost too much to take. “So, yeah.” The silence threatened to fall between them again, and Bucky cleared his throat.

“I guess I should, uh…” He gestured vaguely upwards, and Steve came back to himself. 

“Yeah, I’ll get you set up. Do you want sweatpants or something to sleep in?” Bucky shrugged and nodded at the same time, which Steve took as a yes, leading him upstairs and pulling out a t-shirt and sweatpants which would fit. He paused once he was sure Bucky had everything he needed. 

“I’ll just be, uhh—” He nodded towards the kids’ rooms. “If you need me.” Bucky smiled, and he began to retreat, until he heard Bucky call out to him in a whisper.

“Steve?”

He turned to see Bucky standing in the doorway, planning his next words carefully.

“You aren’t gonna be lonely. Tonight might not have gone the way you hoped, but it’ll work itself out.”

It wasn’t until Steve was curled up in a nest of blankets and pillows on the floor of the nursery, that he allowed himself to think about how in a way, the night had ended exactly how he had hoped it would.

Though, maybe it could have been improved marginally by not having to pull stray Legos out from under his makeshift mattress every time he moved. He wriggled a little, trying to make himself comfortable without waking Rosie. He had slept like this before, in his darker moments following the divorce, when his bed had felt far too empty and the room too quiet. It felt different now; he had learned to sleep on his own, and the intervening years had certainly reduced his tolerance for back pain.

He was just about to get up and add some extra stuffed animals to his “mattress”, when the door opened a crack, and Bucky poked his head into the room.

“Do you have—” He cut himself off mid-whisper and shook his head. “Jesus christ, Steve. You can’t sleep like that.” Steve sat up, trying to reassure Bucky that he was fine, but he cut himself off with a wince as his back protested vehemently.

“Ugh, yeah. Sofa would probably be a better option.” He stood and went out into the hallway, closing the door behind him so they wouldn’t wake Rosie. He asked Bucky what he had been looking for, and then showed him where to find spare toothbrushes under the bathroom sink, berating himself for forgetting to do so earlier.

He started making his way back downstairs, but stopped when he felt a hand on his arm.

“Steve, take the bed. It’s fine, I was already asleep on the sofa, I can go back there.” Steve protested, insisting Bucky was the guest. He already felt bad enough that he had kept Bucky so late that he was too tired to drive home, he wasn’t about to make him sleep on the uncomfortable sofa. Bucky snorted.

“You are such a goddamn martyr, Rogers. If you insist on me sleeping in your bed, you might as well join me.” Bucky seemed to freeze, and Steve flushed because that sentence had conjured up some very specific connotations he really had been trying to hold back. “Um. I mean, it’s a big bed, and you’ve mentioned having back problems before, so I just—” 

Bucky’s floundering brought Steve back to reality and he nodded with a smile, reassuring Bucky that it was fine. He couldn’t really say no now, not when Bucky was clearly worried it was weird. If he said no, Bucky would take it as confirmation, and that would just make him _more_ uncomfortable. He sighed.

“Go brush your teeth. We’ll share the bed.” Bucky smiled in relief, and his shoulders seemed to sag. Steve deliberately kept his thoughts anywhere but Bucky as he got into bed and lay stiffly on his side, until Bucky came back and climbed in next to him. 

“Goodnight, Steve,” he whispered, turning off the lamp next to the bed.

“‘Night,” Steve responded, and they lay in silence like that, until the exhaustion which had clearly been plaguing Bucky seemed to win, and his breaths evened out. Steve felt himself relax at the deep, rhythmic breaths from the other side of the bed.

He fell asleep easier than he had in a long time. He may have gotten used to sleeping alone, but this was definitely better.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Fifteen here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-15)


	16. Chapter 16

Bucky was surprised that he managed to get any sleep at all that night, considering he was in Steve’s bed, with the subject of his dumb teenage-style crush laying right next to him. He was close enough to touch — all Bucky would have to do would be to roll over and reach out. He could feel the warmth of Steve's body in the small space between them, and he was hyper aware of the position of his arms and legs, wondering how Steve might react if they were to touch.

He had to admit, he had been taken aback when Steve had said he was going on a date. Bucky had agreed to babysit without questioning it, eager to spend just a little bit more time in this house which felt more like a home than any other he had ever worked in. It had never really felt like work, being here, and he felt for Steve’s kids in much the same way he did for Freya. They may not be blood, but it still felt a lot like family. He tried not to dwell on the feeling, knowing that in two days time it would be over.

He had tried to go along with it, doing his best not to appear jealous. He had managed it reasonably well, he thought, keeping himself busy during the day by letting Teddy pull him into his favourite high-energy games; just enjoying his time with the children. But then Steve had come down those stairs ready to go, and Bucky’s mouth had gone dry. He was used to seeing Steve at home — comfortable and relaxed. The one time they had bumped into each other at the park, Bucky had been bowled over by him in simple jeans and a plain t-shirt, but that had been nothing compared to how he looked dressed for a date.

The hair which was usually messy and soft had been combed down and tamed, though it seemed to still be slightly damp, and he hadn’t shaved the stubble which was usually kept in check. Bucky realised it must have been a few days since Steve had shaved, because it was beginning to resemble a beard. Bucky had had to clench his fists to avoid reaching out to touch it. And then Steve had left, and Bucky had immediately been set upon by an over-eager pair of children who were determined to teach him the actions to their favourite picture book. 

Before he knew it, he was fast asleep on the sofa and a few hours later, he was woken up by Steve walking in the door. He was exhausted; he had used up so much energy distracting himself from Steve’s date that he must have overworked himself. He couldn’t help but ask about the date, once the children were safely tucked into bed, a certain morbid curiosity pulling the question from him. When Steve had said he hadn’t enjoyed himself, Bucky had had to force back a smile. 

He wasn’t sure what had possessed him, what new courage he had momentarily sprouted which led to him inviting Steve to share the bed, but he was grateful the offer had been accepted. Even though they weren’t touching, the presence of someone else sleeping next to him — someone who wasn’t purring loudly and scratching at the bedsheets, that is — was soothing. He could tell Steve was still awake, and he debated reaching out, closing the distance between them, but before he could build up the nerve, his exhaustion overtook him once again and he was pulled into a deep, warm sleep.

Bucky woke up to what felt like a furnace surrounding him. He was sweaty and bleary eyed, and there was an unfamiliar weight on his chest. He blinked himself awake properly, and looked down to see a head of blonde hair resting on his collarbone. He froze, but then softened with a smile. He reached up to run a hand through the soft strands, checking the time on the little alarm clock on the bedside table.

“Honey, you gotta let me get up,” he whispered, and laughed when the only response was a stubborn huff of breath and a muffled sentence.

“Nope, y’re comfy.”

“Charlie, come on. You still have school today, and I’m sure you’d like me to do fancy braids, huh?” She lifted her head and smiled suspiciously at him, raising an eyebrow. There was a laugh from the doorway and Bucky looked over to see Steve standing there, holding a coffee.

His hair was no longer slicked back, but mussed with sleep and sticking up in all directions. His shirt was wrinkled and stretched at the collar, evidence of Rosie’s habit of gripping the fabric when he held her. He had a crease from the pillow stretching across his cheek, and he wore a soft, slightly embarrassed smile.

“She crawled in sometime in the middle of the night. I told her to leave you be, but — well…” Steve trailed off with an embarrassed expression, and Bucky just shrugged, pushing himself up into a seated position and carefully dislodging the still partially-asleep eight year old from where she was clinging to him. She yawned loudly and pouted.

“Go on, get dressed and grab a ribbon or something, okay? You’ll have the prettiest hair in the whole school today, I promise.” She perked up at that and hopped off the bed, dodging Steve and running to her own room to find a suitable outfit. Bucky swung his legs out from under the covers and stretched before standing. Steve took a step into the room and held out the coffee.

“Thought I’d bring you this, figured you might need it.” Bucky took the mug with a smile. He had no idea how to act; this was so far from anything he had done before. He wasn’t even totally sure he knew what _this_ was. In the time it took for him to raise the mug to his lips and swallow a sip, his mind had begun to race, and he started overthinking everything that had just happened.

“Steve, I’m so sorry, I—”

“Do you want some pancakes?” Steve interrupted him, and Bucky was pulled up short. He had been about to apologise for blurring the lines of professionalism, for making things weird by not giving Steve room to decline his offer to share a bed, for — well, for something. And Steve went and offered him pancakes. Bucky wasn’t sure what to make of it. 

“Um… Sure, yeah. Pancakes sound good.”

Steve smiled wide and backed away before turning to jog down the stairs. Bucky padded after him, sipping at his coffee as he went. He sat at what had become his usual spot in the kitchen, while Steve pottered around, mixing the batter from a box mix and heating the pan. Charlie came downstairs first, dressed for school and holding a ribbon and her hairbrush. Bucky smiled at her indulgently.

“I’ll just go make sure Teddy is up, and then I’ll do your hair, alright?” She nodded and went to get plates for their breakfast from the cupboard. Bucky felt a surprising jolt of pride at her for taking the initiative, which only grew when he got upstairs and saw Teddy emerging from the bathroom, toothpaste smeared over his face. He hadn’t quite gotten the hang of the idea that it was better to brush your teeth _after_ eating, but it was progress nonetheless. 

“Good job, buddy!” Bucky held a hand out for a high five, faking pain at the strength of Teddy’s palm. A snuffling sound started from the direction of the nursery. “Why don’t you get dressed and head down for breakfast? I think I smell pancakes!” Teddy’s eyes widened and he nodded before rushing to this room. He paused at the door and turned back with a thoughtful expression. His eyes squinted and his head tipped to the right. He screwed up his lips and watched Bucky for a moment before speaking.

“Why are you dressed like my daddy?” he asked, and Bucky flushed.

“Well, I… I had a sleepover, and forgot to bring my pajamas.” He went for the simple explanation, and Teddy accepted his answer with a shrug. 

“Okay!” He went to get dressed and Bucky got Rosie up, carrying her downstairs. She gripped the collar of the shirt he was wearing and burrowed her sleepy face into his neck. Bucky didn’t try to hide the grin that was spreading on his face. Teddy followed them down shortly afterwards, just in time for Steve to serve up the first batch of pancakes. 

They ate quietly, and Bucky took his time braiding Charlie’s hair while she shoveled nutella-smeared pancakes into her mouth. As he worked the blonde strands into a neat french braid, weaving the ribbon through the strands and tying it off at the end, he glanced around him. Steve had finished cooking and was helping Rosie, who clutched a piece of pancake tightly in her fist and was gradually coating herself in syrup. Teddy was slouched back in his chair, the plate in front of him already empty. He was eyeing Bucky’s own plate with interest. 

It hit him suddenly that it was Thursday. His second to last day here, before he would go home for good. The scene in front of him was wildly different to the one he had walked into on his first days. The kids were still kids, there was still food smeared over various surfaces and they still made messes and threw the occasional tantrum, but they had learned to take a degree of responsibility for themselves and their belongings with the help of his aids.

The clearest difference wasn’t in the kids, though. Steve looked brighter, more full of life. He seemed to shine from within, and Bucky hoped that at least part of that was due to him. He finished the braids and patted Charlie on the head, before sitting down to eat his own breakfast. The pancakes were slightly cold, but he drizzled them with syrup and ate them happily. Teddy looked disappointed.

Soon, the dishes were put away into the dishwasher, and the kids left to get their backpacks. Steve was holding Rosie, tickling her with his beard and making dramatic snarling sounds, while she squealed, giggled, and tried to escape. He set her down and turned to Bucky.

“I know you probably need to go home, to feed Alpine, right?” he asked and Bucky nodded.

“Yeah, she won’t be too happy with me for leaving her this long.” Steve nodded and went out to the entryway, opening the door. The kids ran out to get in the car and left the two of them standing together.

“Feel free to wear the pajamas home. I don’t mind.” Bucky smiled and flushed. He had almost forgotten he was wearing Steve’s clothes. 

“I guess I should grab my keys and head off...” He hesitated and Steve paused in the doorway.

“I’ll wait, lock up after both of us.” Bucky smiled and went to get his keys from his pants pocket. He picked up the clothes he had worn yesterday from where he had left them folded by the bed. It felt strange leaving like this, and when he walked out he waited while Steve locked the door behind them. He found himself watching Steve’s hands, and when he finished locking up, there was nothing else to wait for. 

Steve was looking at him, so he met his eyes. He was smiling, so Bucky smiled back, suddenly aware of how close they were standing. Almost as close as they had been last night while sleeping, but still not touching in any way. His breath caught, and Steve seemed to notice, because a faint pink blush appeared on his cheeks. Bucky’s chest felt tight, and he couldn’t look away.

It wouldn’t take much to lean in just those few inches, to close the distance between them. He hadn’t managed to make the move the previous night, but maybe this morning he could find the courage. He took a deep breath. What if he was reading this wrong? What if Steve was just embarrassed to be standing so close to him outside of the house, where any of the neighbours could see, with Bucky wearing his clothes? Maybe he just felt warm all of a sudden.

Steve’s eyes flickered down to Bucky’s lips and the flush deepened. 

Or maybe, just maybe, he wanted this just as much as Bucky did.

He leaned forward, chest tight and heart thumping, when a high pitched voice called out from behind him.

“Daddy! We’re gonna be _late for school!”_ Bucky blinked and saw Teddy and Charlie hanging out the car door. Charlie was attempting to pull Teddy back in and she seemed to be scolding him for calling out. Steve took a step back, and Bucky clenched his jaw to avoid showing the disappointment he felt. He watched Steve walk away with a sad smile before heading to his own car.

“Will you be back today?” Steve called out the window as he started the car, and Bucky paused. He didn’t want to leave at all, and he certainly didn’t want to leave for the full day. But he thought about everything he should have done at home the previous night and winced.

Alpine would need to be fed, and her litter box changed. He had a huge pile of laundry waiting for him and his cupboards had grown almost entirely bare. He did the math in his head.

“I’ll probably be back around four, would that be okay?” He half hoped Steve would say he needed him earlier, but the man just nodded with a blinding smile.

“I’ll see you then.” And then he pulled away, driving towards the school. Bucky watched him go, head full of conflicting emotions. He drove home in a daze, replaying the moment on repeat in his mind.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Sixteen here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-16)


	17. Chapter 17

Steve resolutely did not think about Bucky as he went through the usual school run. He didn’t think about falling asleep and feeling Bucky’s warmth from the other side of the bed while he pulled out of the driveway. 

As he pulled up at the school gates and Charlie and Teddy ran in to find their friends, he didn't dwell on how he had woken up to see Charlie curled up to Bucky's chest. He didn't dwell on the urge he had felt to cuddle up with the two of them or how he'd forced himself to ignore that urge and gotten up to make coffee instead.

He didn’t reflect on how easily Bucky had fit into the morning routine, helping the kids get ready and eating breakfast at the kitchen table while wearing Steve’s clothes as he drove home. 

And when Steve got home, unlocking the door with Rosie in his arms, he definitely didn’t wonder what would have happened if the kids hadn’t called out. Had Bucky been about to kiss him? Or had that just been Steve’s mind projecting its own wishes?

Steve really tried not to think about any of that, keeping himself occupied until he was back in the kitchen and Rosie toddled off to play with her toys, leaving Steve on his own. And then that was all he could think of. Bucky in his bed; Bucky in his clothes; Bucky with his children; just Bucky. He opened his phone and saw texts from Natasha, wondering how the date had gone.

> [Steve] I think I’ve gotta say no to any future blind dates. It’s not working out.

His phone rang with a call from her, which he answered straight away.

“That bad, huh?” she asked before he could even say hello. She didn’t sound surprised. Something about her tone sounded slightly off, and a thought occurred to Steve. 

“Honestly, if I didn’t know better, I’d almost think you set me up on a bad date on purpose. You should know better than to think I'd get along with someone who was rude to waiters.” A soft hum came from her end.

“Is that so? Now why on earth would I do something like that?” Steve scoffed, but didn’t rise to the bait.

“I never know what goes through your mind, Natasha. You’re an enigma.”

“Damn right, Rogers.” She paused, as though waiting to see if he would elaborate, but then she just changed the subject. “I meant to ask, how did you manage to find a babysitter on such short notice?” Steve coughed. He had told her he found someone to watch the kids, and was relieved when she hadn’t pried. He should have known it had been too good to be true at the time.

“Oh you know, I just asked Bucky if he had any connections who might be available…” It technically wasn’t a lie, but she saw through him nonetheless.

“And?” Steve rolled his eyes and gave in, knowing she had likely figured it out for herself anyway.

“And he said he was free. Bucky watched them.” Natasha hummed, considering. There was no surprise in her voice.

“How did that go? Him staying late?” 

“The kids had fun. Teddy made him do _Bear Hunt_ about a dozen times, but he seemed fine with it.” Steve hoped his deflection had worked, but from the tone of Natasha’s responding hum he was sure she knew there was more to it. She didn’t push, however, and Steve was grateful.

“No more dates, then?” she asked, and Steve responded in the affirmative.

“No more dates.”

“One mediocre date, and you give up on the concept as a whole?” Okay, maybe she wasn’t dropping it. 

Steve sighed, knowing she would know exactly why he was rejecting future dates, but not able to bring himself to say it out loud.

“You know the real reason.” He looked around at the empty kitchen, hearing Rosie noisily bashing her toys together through the open door in the other room. Natasha, ever perceptive, took pity on him.

“I’m off work today. Want some company?” Steve felt the tightness in his chest unfurl slightly at her offer.

“You don’t have to—”

“I’ll be there in an hour.” Steve smiled.

“Thanks, Nat.” She disconnected without a goodbye and Steve took a moment to steady himself. He grabbed Rosie as she ran past him holding a large Olaf toy and carried her into his studio. She whined a little, but quieted down when he gave her a colouring book and some crayons.

“Why don’t we both do some work, huh?” She smiled at him and set herself up on the floor, choosing her crayon carefully before starting to colour. Steve watched her for a moment, but then turned to his own work. He was doing some minor revisions to a piece based on the author’s feedback from his initial draft. 

He made the required tweaks, adding extra detail to the background and making the main character blend in a little more, so their reveal in the next page would feel more dramatic. He was putting the finishing touches to the page when Rosie piped up from the floor.

“I done! Look, daddy!” Steve turned to see her creation, mostly using her red and blue crayons in broad strokes across the page, with a small circle of orange added in for good measure.

“That’s great, sweetheart! Why don’t we put it on the wall?” Rosie nodded excitedly and Steve took the book from her, trimming the page out carefully. He looked at the wall of his studio, the actual wallpaper of which was almost indiscernible behind the overlapping drawings pinned there, from each of his children. He carefully wrote Rosie’s name and the date on the picture and pinned it up where it wouldn’t cover any of his favourites, before high fiving his daughter.

Just then there was a knock at the door, and Steve glanced at the time. It was exactly an hour since Natasha had agreed to come over. He went out to let her in, and was surprised to see Sam there too. They went into the living room and Steve left Rosie with them while he made coffee. 

“Didn’t you say you were at your mom’s for a few days?” Steve asked, and Sam just held his hands up in surrender.

“I plead the fifth.” Steve laughed and they went into the kitchen. He was hardly in the door before Natasha turned to him.

“So, are you ready to admit you’re in love with the nanny yet?” Steve turned maroon and spluttered in response.

“I don’t — I’m not —” 

“What Natasha was _trying_ to ask is,” Sam interrupted, shooting Natasha a look. She just shrugged and sipped her tea as he continued, “Is there something in particular you needed to talk about?” 

Steve sighed, looking between them. This conversation would have been easier with Peggy, as she already knew about his silly little recurring dream — which he had thankfully managed to avoid the previous night. Who knows what would have happened if he had talked in his sleep with Bucky right there — what if he had heard? These were his best friends, though, and he knew they would be there for him. He told them everything, from how well Bucky fit into their lives, and how he couldn’t stop thinking about him — right up to the moment on the doorstep this morning.

“I don’t know what it is about him. At first I thought I was just grateful for everything he was doing, you know? But that feeling never left; it just got more and more solid. It just feels right, having him here.” Steve flushed at his words, expecting a wave of teasing. It never came, the only response a gentle question from Sam.

“Do you think he was about to kiss you?” Steve shrugged. 

“Does it matter? I mean, even if he was, he’s never given any reason to think he might be interested, so it was probably just in response to the weirdness of the whole morning.” Natasha rolled her eyes with a snort.

“I know you aren’t that much of an idiot,” she said, and Steve shut his mouth, chastised. 

“Steve, it sounds pretty clear to me that he’s interested in being more than just a nanny for you, regardless of this morning,” Sam responded, before starting to count off his reasons on his fingers. “You mentioned he stays late a lot, he watches you while you draw, he offered to babysit without a second thought, and he straight up told you this isn’t how he usually interacts with his clients.” Steve opened his mouth to respond to Sam’s logic, to say he may just be going above and beyond for his job, but Sam shook his head pointedly. “The man invited you to share a bed with him last night. He isn’t doing that to get a good review on his website, this isn’t just work for him.” 

“But still, none of that really means he wants anything more than friendship, does it?” Steve protested, and Natasha scoffed while Sam just repeated the words _sharing a bed._

“I’m not going to try to convince you here, Steve. But you know there’s only one way to find out, right?”

Steve sighed. She was right. Peggy had said the same when he had told her about the dream after all, had told him to just _talk_ to Bucky. And damn it, he was an adult — he should be able to just ask someone out, to have an honest conversation about his feelings and allow himself to be vulnerable for once. But God, it was _difficult._

“Yeah, I know. I’m going to talk to him. I just need to figure out what to say.” He sighed.

Rosie, meanwhile, had toddled her way into the kitchen and back out to them, frowning.

“Where Buggy?” Sam and Natasha shot Steve a look, and Sam snorted.

“We’re gonna head out now. Let us know how it goes.” Steve nodded, and showed them out. 

“You’ve got this, Steve. You’re a catch, and I find it hard to believe he wouldn’t feel the same after what you’ve told us. Just give it a chance.”

Natasha’s parting words were like a constant reminder as he took care of Rosie. He explained to Rosie that Bucky was gone for the morning, and that he would be back after school hours. Her lip started to quiver, and Steve worried that she was upset, before he realised that she was just overdue for her nap. He put her down, but she had already begun to cry. She was calling for Bucky, then for Peggy, then for Sam and Natasha. She even asked for Tony at one point. 

Steve tried to comfort her, but she just cried louder, so he left her alone as Bucky had advised in the early days. Within ten minutes, her tiredness had won, and there were only the familiar snuffling sounds of sleep coming from her room. Steve sighed with relief and went back to work until she woke.

~*~*~

Alpine had been moody when Bucky got in after his night of babysitting, and he had had to spend at least thirty minutes feeding and cuddling her before she forgave him enough to let him leave her side. Once Bucky was finished making sure his cat didn’t entirely hate him for abandoning her overnight, Bucky let his phone drop on the couch cushion, then sat and stared at his quiet apartment. 

Between work and spending time with the Odinsons on the weekends, he really hadn’t spent much time at home during the day since his week with Becca. As he sat there, he began to really question what he was doing. He had only taken on this job because he recognised that work was taking up too much of his life and wanted to make a change — and yet here he was, spending less time on himself than ever before.

He reached out to grab his laptop off the coffee table, opening up his various spreadsheets and the calendar app to look at the appointments which he had lined up for the next few months. There weren’t too many, a single day here and there, and only one week-long gig.

He moved on to click through his recent blog posts. He hadn’t published anything in close to a month, after Becca had warned him that writing anything specific about his current job might give away more than he was probably willing to reveal about how he felt. Maybe after the next two days, once he had managed to gain some emotional as well as physical distance, he might be able to revisit the post and turn it into something usable. Maybe.

It wasn’t as though he hadn’t written anything lately, but none of it fit with the academic, impartial brand he had developed for himself. He exhaled heavily and ran his fingers through his hair. Even that had changed, since he had been due to get it trimmed before he had started his job with the Rogers’ and hadn’t found the time to make an appointment, it now hung longer than it had in years, curling just around his ears unless he carefully styled it back.

“What do you think, Alpine?” He glanced over to where she sat sprawled out on the carpet. She turned her back on him, and he knew he had more grovelling to do before she forgave him for the late feeding. He turned back to the laptop, moving the calendar spreadsheet to look at it side by side with a list of potential blog subjects and sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

Even though he knew he had a lot of thinking to do, he just couldn’t focus. His mind kept drifting back to Steve; to the way he had looked when he had gotten home after his date, tired and soft, and how he had shown such concern for Bucky’s ability to get home safely. The way he had smiled from his spot in the bedroom doorway, seeing Bucky with Charlie sleeping on his chest. The expression he had worn when Bucky had come so close to kissing him, and the way he had jumped back as if he had been burned when the kids had called out.

Bucky knew, deep down, that it was too much to hope that Steve could feel the same way he did, but as he thought about Steve’s face in that moment on the doorstep, he allowed himself to imagine for a moment. What would it be like if he didn’t have to leave? If it could be more than just a job and a good working relationship? What would it be like to have more mornings like that one, to go with Steve to Charlie’s dance recital and Teddy’s kindergarten graduation?

The fantasies were wonderful and Bucky wished they could be real, but he had to remind himself that they were just that — fantasies. His mind was forcibly pulled back to the screen in front of him before he could dwell on the thought of a potential relationship any longer. He sighed and closed the laptop. 

He knew he couldn’t have that, regardless of how Steve felt. Not if he could barely find enough time outside of work to feed his cat and call his sister on a regular basis. 

At the thought of Becca, Bucky glanced at the time then checked the class schedule he had managed to convince her to send him at the start of the semester. She should be free around now, so he decided there was no time like the present to make himself feel like less of a shitty big brother. 

He grabbed his phone from the cushion where he had dropped it and swiped to her contact, saved under a series of emoji — princess, poop, and bear. She had insisted on the first, and Bucky had conceded on the condition that he could add the other two as well. He knew she had him saved with the weird exploding head and nerdy glasses emoji as well as the bear, so she could hardly complain.

She answered after only a couple of rings, and Bucky could hear a faint buzz in the background, indicating she was likely in the cafeteria.

“Hey Bucky bear! I was beginning to think you had been kidnapped and couldn’t remember my phone number for the ransom call.” Bucky snorted at her fatalistic humour.

“Wow, harsh. Yeah, I’m sorry Becs, I’ve been busy with this thing called having a job to pay for your tuition, you know?” 

“Okay, first of all; we both know my tuition is paid out of our inheritance and that your job has nothing to do with it. And secondly; it’s been a month — how much more work can there be left to do? Surely the kids are little saints by now right?” Bucky pondered how to respond to that, but Becca continued in a wry tone. “Though I _suspect_ a certain dad is probably taking up more of your time than the kids are.” 

“It’s not like that, Becs.”

“So you haven’t been staying later than necessary just to spend time with him?”

“Well, I—”

“You haven’t been thinking about laying one on him every time you see him?”

“Becca!” he protested, and she paused.

“Hold up, why are you calling now? Shouldn’t you be working today?”

“For your information, I’m not going in until this afternoon today. Took the morning off.” She hummed suspiciously down the line, and he knew she smelled a rat.

“And why might that be?” Bucky sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

“I may have babysat for him while he was on a date last night, and then stayed the night.”

“Oh you sweet, sweet fool. How have you managed to survive this long?” Bucky released a long breath.

“I don’t know, Becs. I don’t know.”

“Well, at least tell me the date went badly for him?” Bucky barked with laughter, then replied in the affirmative. Becca cheered.

“Then you’ve still got a chance! Wait, was the date with a woman?”

“No, it was a dude. _Not_ that that matters.”

“Even better! I’m telling you, this is good! The only way it could be better is if you slept in his _bed.”_ Bucky turned red and coughed, then had to hold his phone away from his ear as Becca squealed. “ _You slept in his bed?”_ Reluctantly, he filled her in on the details of the previous night, and the morning.

“And you still think he isn’t interested in you?” Bucky thought about it for a moment before replying.

“I think maybe he’s gotten attached to having me there and that yes, he probably would have kissed me back this morning if I had gone for it,” he said and ignored the sound of Becca taking a breath to speak in order to continue. “ _But_ I also think that he jumped away pretty quickly when we were interrupted, and it’s just as likely that he got caught up in the moment. Besides, I should probably figure out my own shit before getting into all of that.”

“Isn’t it funny how you only seem to use logic when you’re trying to talk yourself out of something good?” she asked, and Bucky regretted ever telling her that majoring in psych would be a good idea. 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture.

“Seriously though, I don’t think you should just give up on him. Play it cool if you like, but don’t just blank him after tomorrow without giving him a chance.”

“I won’t, I promise. I don’t think I could stay away even if I tried, to be honest.”

“You really have got it bad for him, don’t you?”

Bucky hummed in agreement, and changed the subject to her classes, relieved when she allowed it. By the time she finished telling him about her campaign for the school’s drama club committee elections and the associated politics — which sounded more complicated than the UN — almost an hour had passed.

“I better go, Bucky bear. Gotta get to class in a couple of minutes.” 

“Of course! Have fun, let me know how the election goes!”

“Will do, keep me updated with the juicy details of your love life.”

“Absolutely not, unless you have more you want to share about Robert?”

“Bye Bucky!” she responded quickly, and Bucky laughed before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. He ignored his laptop in favour of doing the housework he had been ignoring for the last week and a half. The big decisions could wait until later.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Seventeen here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-17)


	18. Chapter 18

Steve managed to keep his mind off of Bucky for most of the day, until the doorbell rang while Charlie and Teddy were eating grilled cheese at the kitchen table. Steve went to answer it, Rosie toddling along behind him.

Bucky grinned at him from the doorstep and Steve had to pause for a moment, remembering the first time he had answered the door like this, all those weeks ago. He broke into a smile and Bucky walked in, ruffling Rosie’s soft hair as he passed her.

“Buggy!” she cried and followed after him until he picked her up, resting her on his hip. Charlie and Teddy waved their greasy fingers at him and went back to the debate they had been having about something that had happened in school.

“—And Freya caught him before he got to the line so we won!” Teddy finished, and Bucky sat down with them while Steve hovered in the doorway. Charlie looked as though she were about to argue with him, and Steve wondered if he should intervene.

“Is that my Freya?” Bucky asked, slotting himself in effortlessly and diffusing the brewing argument. Steve could detect a hint of pride in his voice at the mention of his niece and it sparked that familiar flutter in his chest. Teddy nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah! We were on the same team in gym class and she kicked butt!” Steve gave him a warning glance and he apologised with a grumble.

“Anyways, I told her you had a grownup sleepover last night with my daddy and she thought it was silly you forgot your clothes too. She wants to come have a kids sleepover someday, can we please, daddy?”

Steve almost missed the question, too busy choking on air and turning red at the phrasing. A snort from Bucky told him he was at least not the only one. Steve forced out an answer, saying he would need to talk to Freya’s parents first, while trying to ignore the way Bucky’s shoulders were shaking with mirth.

Charlie looked between them and rolled her eyes, before going back to her food. “Grownups are weird,” she sighed, exasperated, and Teddy nodded seriously along with her.

After that, there was homework to help with and dinner to prepare. Steve found his eyes drifting to Bucky regularly but every time he tried to find an excuse to talk to him, Charlie would ask one of them for help with a math problem, or Rosie needed a diaper change, or Teddy had an odd existential question which left them both baffled. 

“Hey dad? Why do I have two eyes if I only see one thing?”

“Why did swear words get invented if we’re not allowed to say them?”

“Bucky, why do people not have tails but monkeys do?”

Each time he asked something, there would be a brief silence in which they tried to think of an answer, before one of them would bluff something or say they didn’t know. Teddy went back to work with a shrug before piping up ten minutes later with another inexplicable question.

On several occasions, in quiet moments, Steve looked at Bucky to find the other man already looking back, and they would smile at each other until one turned away, or they were called by one of the children. Steve felt his heart swell each time.

Finally, Peggy called, and the children were set up in the living room with the tablet. Steve went into the kitchen and started to make the tea, running through ways he could address the elephant in the room now that he finally had a moment alone with Bucky.

He had just opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Bucky looked at the screen and turned red, and Steve lost his nerve.

“I should take this, it’s Thor— Uh, Freya’s dad.” Steve nodded, feeling his cheeks heat up in turn. Bucky stood to go into the other room, then paused as he remembered the kids were in there. Steve gestured for him to go into the office and he let himself in, answering the phone as he went. 

Steve sat, sipping his tea on his own and trying not to think about what Bucky was telling his friends about their so-called “grownup sleepover”.

Bucky returned with an apologetic smile at the cold tea just moments before the kids wrapped up with Peggy. They sat down for dinner together, and then went through the bedtime routine without further opportunities to talk, and Steve felt the words burning under his skin the entire time. 

By the time all of the children were asleep and it was just the two of them, Steve found himself struggling to start.

“Hey, Buck?” Steve asked after they had stood quietly in the kitchen for almost a full minute, and Bucky seemed to tense where he stood, averting his gaze from Steve. Steve faltered, finally managing a single word; “Tea?” he offered. Bucky nodded and visibly relaxed. Steve wondered if he had been hoping he wouldn’t mention that morning. Maybe he had misread the shared looks all day. He put tea bags in the mugs and added the water, letting them brew.

“How was your day? Did you get everything you needed done?” Bucky smiled and nodded, before describing his day. Steve went along with him, feeling the tension dissipate as they talked about Bucky’s cat, and how his sister was doing in college. Before he knew it, the tea was finished, and neither of them had anything else to say without addressing the moment on the doorstep. Bucky stood.

“I should be going. It’s getting late.” Steve felt a pang at the words but all he could do was nod, and follow Bucky to the door. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said softly, knowing it was possibly the last time that would actually be guaranteed. Bucky’s returning smile was not as blinding as usual, and Steve wondered if he was thinking the same as he gave his usual response.

“Bright and early.” And then he turned and got into his car. Steve heard the opening strain of a familiar pop song as Bucky pulled out and drove away, waving back at Steve before he turned the corner and was out of sight.

Steve locked up and went to bed.

“You’re a fucking idiot, Rogers,” he berated himself as he lay face down across the mattress. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t said anything, but the words had just felt too big, too daunting. He replayed the words he had wanted to say over and over in his head. 

Tomorrow. He still had tomorrow.

~*~*~

By the time Bucky made it back to Steve’s place after his call with Becca, the borrowed pajamas washed, dried and folded neatly under his arm, he was feeling a lot more calm about the whole situation. Steve seemed happy to see him at least, so Bucky hoped that he at least wasn’t upset over their near-kiss earlier.

Talk of _grownup sleepovers_ from the kids and all associated imagery aside, Bucky could almost trick himself into thinking it was just like any other day — even if he did catch Steve watching him slightly more intently than usual on a number of occasions. It took about an hour and a half for Bucky to realise just how on edge Steve was.

Everytime their eyes met, Steve looked as though he was deep in thought, and Bucky hoped he wasn’t thinking of a way to let him down easy. After the third time he caught Steve looking at him, his phone buzzed with a message from Thor, and Bucky felt only marginally guilty in replying with the time Peggy usually called, in order to push back the inevitable conversation with Steve for as long as possible. When Steve eagerly began making him a cup of tea, turning to him with an adorably nervous expression, Bucky almost wanted to ignore the call from Thor, but he knew he couldn’t.

He hadn’t really spent any time in Steve’s office, other than his initial tour of the house, so when Steve indicated he could take his call in there, he couldn’t help but take a look around. He didn’t open any drawers or riffle through sketchpads, but he took in everything which was out in the open eagerly. It was cluttered — sketch pads and canvases littering the desk and the floor space, and a drawing tablet laid to the side. An easel stood by the window, and a variety of works, from sketches to finished paintings, were laying around.

As he did his best to explain to Thor that no, he had not had _that kind_ of sleepover with Steve, but that yes, he may be kind of head over heels for him anyway, he couldn’t help but let his eyes wander some more. The children’s drawings on the wall felt like the safest option, and he couldn’t help but smile at the evident care with which Steve had labelled each piece with the date they had been made, along with the child’s name. In spite of the clutter, Bucky could tell that this was a space which inspired Steve. 

By the time Thor had changed the subject to what Bucky planned to do after this job, Bucky’s gaze had drifted to one of Steve’s unfinished pieces which had been left to one side. It looked as though it had been painted with watercolours, displaying a picnic scene. 

The focus was on the food, an artfully displayed plate of sandwiches and salads, with a decadent looking cake under a glass dome. The family sitting around the blanket were blurred, but the scene was warm, soft and clearly rendered with love. Bucky’s heart clenched looking at it, and it took him a moment to realise Thor had asked him a question.

“Bucky? Did you hear me?” He started and cleared his throat.

“Sorry, no. I was just thinking.” Thor repeated the question, asking if he had decided what direction he wanted to go with his business. Bucky hummed in thought.

“I don’t know. I love what I do, but I need to be able to focus on things other than the job, you know?” 

“Yes, I understand you. So you will take some time off?”

“Seems like the best option. I’ll keep up the blog, maybe take on one or two visits a month? I’ll need to figure out how to make it work long-term, financially, but that’s all I have for now.” They wrapped up after that, and Bucky took a final glance at the picnic scene before leaving to go back out to the kitchen. There was something about it which made Bucky long to enter the scene, to sit down on the blanket and eat one of the sandwiches while laughing along with the little family.

Steve deserved someone like in the painting; someone who could spend time with his family rather than working ten hours a day and barely managing to feed his cat, before falling into bed at the end of the day. But maybe, if he did manage to make a change, to get himself to a place where he could actually balance work and his personal life, he could show Steve he was worth it.

When Steve went to put Rosie to bed, Bucky listened to the faint, familiar words to _Goodnight Moon_ as Steve read to her in a soft voice. Bucky sighed internally, fully aware that he was likely wearing his emotions on his sleeve. The image of what Becca would say if she saw him literally _mooning_ over _Goodnight Moon_ was the only thing that helped him school his features into something neutral before Steve returned.

Bucky was surprised when, just over an hour later, Teddy roped him into reading a bedtime story after Steve had tucked him in and said goodnight. He picked up _The Very Hungry Caterpillar_ and perched on the edge of Teddy’s bed. Steve smiled softly at them before moving on to head downstairs, leaving them alone.

Bucky began to read the story aloud, pausing to let Teddy count how many of each item the caterpillar ate before reading the page. By the time the book was finished Teddy was rubbing at his eyes, but he looked to be fighting sleep.

“What’s up, buddy?” Bucky asked, putting down the book and looking at Teddy with concern. 

“Is it true you aren’t ever coming back after tomorrow?” Teddy asked, voice small. Bucky smiled sadly and reached out to straighten the blankets as he answered.

“You’re right. I won’t be around all the time anymore, but I won’t say I’m never coming back. We’re pals, right?” Teddy nodded, and Bucky continued. “Maybe I’ll bring Freya by for a playdate or something, how does that sound?” Teddy nodded but didn’t quite perk up. 

“Don’t you guys want to have your daddy all to yourself again?” he asked, trying to cheer him up, and Teddy frowned.

“Daddy will miss you too, you know? He always gets happy when you show up and I know he’s sad you’re going.” Bucky finished tucking him in and smoothed the dark head of curls.

“Your daddy will be just fine, I promise. And I’ll come cheer him up if he does get sad.” Bucky just about managed to get the words out past the lump in his throat, but Teddy didn’t seem to notice, just nodded and snuggled up to his stuffed giraffe. 

Bucky hoped it was true; that Steve would be fine without him, but also that he would be okay with Bucky coming by to visit from time to time. That even if he might not share Bucky’s feelings, he might still welcome Bucky’s friendship and company.

He knew they would have to talk eventually, but he wanted to prolong the inevitable let down for as long as possible and try to enjoy his last day with the family. When Steve didn’t press the issue, Bucky felt a surge of gratitude and happily began telling Steve about Alpine’s behaviour that morning, then relayed some of Becca’s stories from college until he couldn’t find any other way to fill the silence other than to leave.

He just about managed to avoid banging his head against the steering wheel in frustration at himself when he got into the car, knowing Steve would be waiting at the door. Sure enough, when Bucky turned to look, Steve was leaning against the jamb. Bucky waved goodbye as he pulled out onto the street and drove away. 

When he got home, his eyes fell on his laptop out on the coffee table and his eyebrows furrowed in thought. He thought about Steve’s paintings from his office, and reading with the kids the last two nights. He thought about everything he loved about his job, and the things he wished he could change. He thought about Becca, and how he had come to bond with her in the difficult time after their parents’ accident.

He opened the laptop and began to type, an idea forming slowly but surely. By the time he finished, it was well after midnight, and he saved his progress before sending an email and falling into bed, a smile on his face.

He was still dreading the following day, and he really wasn’t sure what he would do if Steve didn’t want to keep in touch with him after the job finished, but at least he had a plan for what to do about his career.

That would have to be enough for now.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Eighteen here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-18)


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know it's been tough going, but this chapter will hopefully be worth it!  
> If you haven't been listening to the podfic, I HIGHLY recommend it for this one in particular, just FYI.

Steve woke up with a pit of dread in his stomach. This was it, Bucky’s last day. He lay in bed for longer than usual, until he heard Charlie begin to move around in her room. He pulled himself out from under the covers and dressed with more care than he usually did.

He made his way downstairs and started the coffee machine. Charlie plopped herself down at the table not long after and poured herself a bowl of cereal. The doorbell rang, and she jumped up and ran to the door. Steve followed behind her and smiled when he saw her go up onto her tiptoes to try and see through the peephole, making sure it was Bucky.

She looked back to Steve for confirmation, and he nodded his permission. She opened the door, and Steve wasn't sure whether it was his imagination or if Bucky looked a little more tired than usual, as though he hadn’t slept well. They greeted each other as usual, and Steve retreated to the kitchen to pour the coffee. Bucky followed, Charlie clinging to his leg.

She was quiet this morning, Steve noticed. Ever since Steve had started setting aside time to spend with her, she had been filling the space between spoonfuls of cereal with chatter about what she was doing in school and what was happening in the book she was reading. But she just sat and ate, not even asking for one of them to fix her hair.

Steve glanced at Bucky, only to find him looking back. Bucky gave a tight smile and a nod, clearly picking up on the same thing Steve had, before turning to Charlie.

“Hey, how about we try pigtails today?” he asked, and she shook her head. “One long braid?” She shook her head again. “A cute bun, then?” This time she didn’t even respond with a gesture, just took another bite of her cereal. Bucky relented, expression tight, and sat back with his coffee. 

Steve decided to check in on Teddy.

When he opened Teddy’s bedroom door, he was glad he did, because the boy was still curled up in bed, eyes screwed tightly closed.

“Time to get up, Teddy.” The eyes closed even tighter, and Steve sighed. He walked over to the bed, and tried to pick him up. The five year old held himself so tight that Steve struggled to lift him, so he changed his tactics — moved as though to leave the room, going so far as to close the door all but a crack behind him, and then waiting just a moment before walking back in. Teddy had opened his eyes and sat up in bed, and he whined when he saw Steve come back in.

“Nooooooo dad!” Teddy pouted and flopped back down onto the bed while Steve stood looking sternly at him.

“Up. Time to get dressed or we’ll be late for school. There might be a token if you get dressed quickly and brush your teeth!” Teddy continued to pout, but Steve decided to leave him alone for a little while. At least he was awake.

When he got back downstairs, he saw that Charlie had at least agreed to brush her hair, though by the expression on Bucky’s face she was still giving him the silent treatment.

Even once Rosie was awake and munching on her toast, Teddy was still sulking upstairs. Steve only just managed to get him dressed and out the door in time to make it to school. His bitter crocodile tears didn’t ease off until he reached the school gates, and Steve was relieved he at least allowed his face to be wiped before going into his classroom. 

One of the parents smiled and waved at him, and Steve waved back with his long since perfected ‘kids, right?’ expression. The man laughed and nodded, pointing out his daughter where she was standing next to Teddy, and Steve recognised her.

“You’re Thor, right?” The man nodded, reaching out a hand to grip Steve’s.

“That’s correct; Bucky has told me a lot about you.” Steve felt himself flush, but couldn’t help a smile.

“He said he worked with you before, right?” Thor grinned.

“Yes, I do not know what we would have done without him.” Steve felt a pang at the words. 

“Yeah, me either.” Rosie squirmed in his arms, and Steve adjusted his grip on her, moving her to his other hip. Thor must have sensed something in his tone, because his expression changed.

“I shouldn’t keep you here longer, you must have a busy day ahead.” Steve nodded, and frowned as Thor walked back to his own car. Steve had the odd feeling that Thor had wanted to say something else, but had thought better of it. He drove back home deep in thought, Frozen soundtrack blaring in his ears while Rosie sang along to the songs she knew in an adorably disjointed manner.

Unlike the others, Rosie didn’t seem to understand that it was Bucky’s last day, so she didn’t act any different. She ran around the house, demanded to watch Frozen, and refused to let Steve wash her face after she ate a banana and wound up with sticky mush around her mouth.

Once she was down for her nap, however, it was just Steve and Bucky. Steve knew he wouldn’t get any work done if he went into his office, so he didn’t bother putting on the front. Instead, he returned to the kitchen where Bucky was sitting. He was writing something in a notebook and jumped ever so slightly when Steve walked in.

“Sorry, I just… I didn’t feel like working today.” Bucky’s lips twitched at Steve’s apology and Steve wondered if he was trying not to smile. Bucky closed the notebook and put it away in his shoulder bag, which was resting against his chair under the table.

“What were you thinking of doing instead?” Bucky asked, and Steve shrugged.

“Coffee?” Bucky nodded, so Steve started the machine and gestured for him to head into the living room. 

Ten minutes later, they were settled on the couch while some daytime TV property show played, though Steve wasn’t really following what was happening. He could tell Bucky wasn’t either, so he took a careful breath and decided to address the elephant in the room. 

“So, It’s your last day, huh?” Bucky nodded and turned fractionally so they were facing each other. Steve rested one arm on the back of the couch and took a sip of coffee. “Got anything lined up, for after?” Bucky made a face which Steve couldn’t decipher.

“I have a few ideas, but I think I’m going to take a break from this kind of work, for a while.” Steve frowned. Had something about him put Bucky off, made him reevaluate his entire career? 

“Why’s that?” He kept his voice carefully still as he asked. 

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. It’s actually why I took this job, to get enough money in the bank so I could take a step back.” Steve sighed in relief.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be great at whatever comes next. But I’m glad you did decide to give this job a chance. I know I've probably said it before but thank you. For everything.” Bucky gave him a soft smile, and Steve felt something well up in his throat. He took another sip of coffee to disguise it.

“I’m glad too,” Bucky said, and Steve looked up again with a hopeful smile. “I’ve learned a lot from you guys too. You’re — all of you — you’re wonderful, really. I don’t—” Bucky cut himself off, and Steve couldn’t help reaching out, putting a hand on his arm in comfort.

“The kids are really gonna miss you. I think that’s why they acted out this morning.” Steve paused, wanting to leave it there, but then his friends’ voices piped up in his head and he decided to be brave. “I’m really gonna miss you too.”

Steve still had his hand resting on Bucky’s arm, and he fixed his gaze there, not quite brave enough to look up at Bucky’s face. He hoped that wasn’t too much, hoped he hadn’t just done something which would ruin their final day together and any potential friendship between them.

On the TV, someone was complaining about the cost of marble countertops.

“Steve—” Bucky’s voice cut through Steve’s thoughts, and he looked up. Bucky’s expression had changed. Steve couldn’t tell if he was devastated or confused by the admission, but the way he held Steve’s eyes made him incapable of looking away. Hope swelled in his chest, and Bucky spoke again. “Steve, I want—”

Whatever he was about to say was lost, as a cry from upstairs cut them both from the moment. Steve swore, and Bucky laughed.

“Parenting, huh?” Bucky stood and held out a hand to help Steve up. Steve drained his coffee and rolled his eyes in agreement.

Steve got Rosie out of bed and calmed her down with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She kept them busy for the next couple of hours, pulling them into a game she had devised with a set of building blocks, and then insisting that they both watch Frozen with her. Bucky sang along to some of her favourite songs with her, and Steve couldn't help but smile while he watched them. Bucky met his eyes during one of the songs and stopped short at Steve’s expression.

Steve flushed, but when Bucky’s eyes widened and his lips spread into a delighted smile, Steve held his gaze and joined them in singing the rest of the song.

By the time the movie finished, Steve had to go pick up the older kids, and this trip went off without a hitch. Steve smiled and waved to the woman he saw collecting Freya, who must be Jane, and she returned the gesture.

When they got home, Teddy and Charlie continued with their plan to act out as much as possible. 

Teddy yelled and threw his toys about, while Charlie cried that she couldn’t concentrate on the book she was reading over his racket. Steve asked Charlie if she wanted to go read in her bedroom or the studio instead, and she stomped off. Steve turned to face Teddy.

“Hey Ted, you know we don’t throw things when they could hit someone, right?” He kept his voice steady and saw Bucky give him an encouraging thumbs up from his position just out of Teddy’s line of sight, where he was holding Rosie.

Teddy threw a toy car across the room with a yell. Steve sighed and pulled him up onto the sofa.

“I know you don’t want to break your toys, buddy. Why don’t we all go out to the park for a little while. We can bring the frisbee so you can throw it as much as you want?” Teddy pouted but nodded. Bucky put Rosie down and gestured upstairs to say he was going to relay their plan to Charlie.

Moments later, she came stomping down the stairs.

“Dad! I wanted to read!” Steve had anticipated this, and he just smiled.

“We’ll bring the picnic blanket, you can sit there and read while Teddy throws things, okay?” She nodded, somewhat reluctantly, and they started getting ready for the park. 

Within an hour, they were ready to go: sunscreen on, blanket rolled up alongside juice boxes and snack packs in Steve’s large backpack. Charlie’s book, a selection of Rosie’s toys, and a red, white, and blue frisbee in a tote bag hanging from the stroller. They walked the short distance — Rosie in her stroller, Charlie holding onto the handle, and Teddy testing how far he could run ahead without being called back.

Bucky walked by Steve’s side all the way there, occasionally darting forward to chase Teddy, until they found a shaded spot, set down the picnic blanket and Steve distributed the toys. Teddy immediately pulled Steve away to play with him, while Bucky sat down with the other two.

Steve returned after half an hour, a tired Teddy descending on the juice boxes with fervour, and his steps faltered.

Bucky sat on the picnic blanket casually, while Charlie lay on her front reading. Rosie was playing with her blocks, and Bucky watched her with a fond expression, helping her to build taller and taller towers, and laughing with her when she knocked them.

If Steve sat down next to him, it would be so painfully similar to his dream. He didn’t have the willpower to resist, so he didn’t. He sat and listened to Teddy explaining to Bucky how he had “won” their frisbee game. Steve wished every Friday afternoon could be like this one.

They returned home just before dinner time, but Steve found he had no desire to cook. He ordered food and settled in with his family once again. When the pizza arrived, they put on a movie — Toy Story, this time — and ate in the living room; the kids sitting on the floor around the coffee table, Steve and Bucky together on the sofa.

Over the course of the movie, once the pizza was finished, the kids began to migrate onto the sofa with them. Shortly after Buzz Lightyear showed up, Rosie climbed up and perched herself in Bucky’s lap. Teddy joined them, curling into Steve when Woody and Buzz found themselves out on their own. By the time the toys had escaped from Sid’s house, Charlie had squeezed herself in between them snugly. 

Steve’s eye was drawn to a shimmer on the carpet. A remnant of the glitter Rosie had spilled on the floor the day he realised he needed help. Rather than frustration, he felt unbelievably fond at the sight and settled in for the rest of the movie.

The credits began to roll, and Steve looked over. Rosie was half asleep, but the other two were still alert. 

“Can we watch the second one?” Charlie asked, and Steve considered. Rosie should be put to bed, but he thought the other two could probably stay up a little later, even if it was close to their bedtime. He glanced at Bucky, who shrugged.

“Sure thing,” he agreed. “Let me put Rosie in bed first though. Why don’t you guys get it set up, and maybe Bucky could make us some popcorn?” Teddy and Charlie cheered and Bucky agreed readily. 

Before he passed Rosie over, though, Bucky smoothed her hair back from her forehead, whispered something to her, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Steve struggled not to choke up as he bathed and read to Rosie, who complained at being brought away from the room. He got her settled before long though, and returned to find Teddy and Charlie had positioned themselves on either side of Bucky, while he held a large bowl of popcorn in his lap. 

“Where am I supposed to sit?” Steve asked jokingly and Charlie giggled, snuggling closer to Bucky to make space for Steve at her other side. He sat and reached over her to take a handful of popcorn, and then pressed play on the sequel.

Charlie and Teddy started yawning about halfway through this time, but they left it on until the end.

As the credits rolled, Steve instructed the kids to go put on their pajamas, and they reluctantly peeled themselves off of Bucky.

“Are you going home now?” Charlie asked, and Bucky shook his head. 

“I’ll hang around and say goodnight, okay?” She nodded, though she looked sad, and left to get ready for bed.

Steve busied himself by gathering up the pizza boxes and empty popcorn bowl, carrying them into the kitchen. As he was washing the bowl, he heard Bucky go up the stairs to say goodnight to the kids, and decided to let them have some time alone with him. He sat down and took out his phone, scrolling idly for several minutes without really taking anything in.

Bucky re-emerged almost half an hour later, eyes slightly red, but he was smiling.

“I guess this is it, huh?” he asked, and Steve went still.

“I guess it is.”

“Do you think that, uh — that we could stay in touch? Maybe a playdate with Freya, or something like that?” Steve stood up abruptly.

“Buck, no.” Bucky’s face fell, and Steve hastened to correct himself. “I mean, of course, but it doesn’t have to be just a playdate for the kids. I want to keep spending time with you.”

“Oh. Okay.” Bucky smiled dopily and it was infectious. “I guess I should—” He gestured towards the door, and Steve nodded reluctantly.

He escorted him to the door, and they lingered there for a moment. Steve was glad this wouldn’t be the end of their friendship, but he knew this was still the end of something. Of spending every day together; of drinking tea during Peggy’s call; of being a team.

“I guess I’ll see you around,” Bucky said, and walked out the door. Steve watched him go, and the sight of it made something within him snap. He didn’t think about the fact that he wasn’t wearing any shoes, didn’t think of the neighbours or the time of the evening, he just acted. 

He ran after Bucky down the driveway, just as Bucky was opening his car door.

“Buck!” he called, and Bucky turned. Steve didn’t think he was imagining the hopeful expression in Bucky’s eyes, but he had to be sure.

“Please tell me this is okay,” he almost whispered as he closed the distance between them. Bucky’s eyes widened, and he let out a little gasp which would have been imperceptible if Steve’s gaze hadn’t been searching his face for permission.

Bucky nodded, and Steve finally did what he had been wanting to do since almost the first moment he had laid eyes on the man in a youtube video on his tiny phone screen.

He reached out to take hold of Bucky’s face and pulled him into a kiss.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Nineteen here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-19)


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I just say, Y'ALL the comments on yesterday's chapter absolutely gave me life. You're all the best, thank you so much!

Bucky’s eyes fluttered closed as Steve’s hands came to rest on his face, and he allowed himself to be pulled into the kiss happily. It was soft, barely a brush of their lips, but it felt electrifying. Steve’s lips were plush and soft, and Bucky let himself melt into them. He brought his hands up to rest on Steve’s waist, feeling the warmth of his body through the thin fabric of his t-shirt. 

Steve inhaled sharply, and Bucky felt him smile against his lips. Bucky took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, suckling on Steve’s lower lip and causing Steve to move his hands and pull him in closer. Bucky hummed and let Steve take the lead, tasting the buttery popcorn they had been eating along with something which was uniquely Steve.

He gasped and pulled away, just enough to rest their foreheads together, remaining wrapped in each other's arms as their breaths mingled. A giggle escaped Bucky’s lips as he looked into Steve’s eyes, filling his field of view with a startling blue pupil and dark lashes.

“Oh,” he said, and Steve surged forward to kiss him again before responding.

“All good?” Steve asked, but before Bucky could answer, a loud squeal came from the house. Steve pulled away with a panicked sound, rushing to the door, but Bucky followed the sound to an upstairs window and laughed.

Charlie and Teddy had evidently not stayed in bed and were standing in the window of Teddy’s room which overlooked the driveway. They had opened the window and seemed to be dancing, letting out squeals of happiness rather than fear or pain.

“Steve!” Bucky called and pointed up at them. Steve looked up at the window too and stopped in his tracks. Bucky could just about make out the chant Charlie was leading the pair of them in.

“Daddy and Bucky sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” Bucky felt giddy and tried to suppress his laughter as Steve attempted to scold his children from his position on the lawn, in his bare feet, lips still flushed from their kiss and the trace of a smile lingering in his eyes.

“Charlotte Carter-Rogers, what are you doing out of your bed?” Charlie looked down, evidently not having realised that they could be heard. With another squeal and a giggle, she turned and ran from the window, followed closely behind by Teddy, who was trying to copy the chant.

“K-S-I-S-I-S-G!”

Now that he was no longer visible to his children, Steve snorted out a laugh and it sent Bucky into a fit of giggles which he couldn’t control.

“I should go make sure they’re in bed,” Steve said, turning back to him. “Do you wanna come back in?” There was an uncertainty behind Steve’s eyes, so Bucky just nodded, closed his car door, and locked it before leaning in to kiss Steve softly again.

“Of course. It’s not that late yet.” Steve grinned, and Bucky followed him back into the house and made his way into the kitchen while Steve went upstairs. Bucky could hear giggles and Steve’s soft voice while he hovered in the doorway.

Gradually, the sounds from upstairs faded, and Steve came back down not long after, looking sheepish.

“Sorry about that,” he said, nose crinkling adorably as he looked at Bucky through his lashes.

“Steve, don’t apologise. Sure, they’re loud and a little bit nosy and possibly over-invested, but they’re kids. They’re _your_ kids. And honestly? They’re pretty hilarious.” Steve broke into a smile and reached out to wrap his arms around Bucky again.

“Yeah, well... I may not have a tree for us to sit in, but maybe we could get back to some k-i-s-i-s-i-s-i—” Bucky rolled his eyes and cut him off with a kiss, which Steve returned, along with a huff of laughter. Bucky led him into the living room, where the menu for Toy Story 2 was still playing on the TV screen.

“Should I put on another movie?” Steve asked, and Bucky smirked.

“Steven!” He feigned shock. “Are you asking me to Netflix and chill with you?” Steve flushed and his eyes went wide, beginning to protest, but Bucky laughed.

“I’m kidding. Sure, put something on. Not a kids movie though? As much as I love them, three in one day is enough for me.” Steve picked something and put it on, but Bucky didn’t pay much attention to it. Steve sat next to him on the sofa, and Bucky pulled him in close, unable to believe that he could.

The movie played on, and Bucky watched the reflection of the screen in Steve’s eyes, until he turned to look at Bucky, expression curious. They were close enough to kiss, so Bucky went for it, enjoying the hum of satisfaction from Steve.

“Can I ask you something?” Steve asked, and Bucky nodded with a smile, unsure what it could be, but for once not overthinking a dozen scenarios at the open question. “When I came down earlier, while Rosie was napping, you were writing something. Was it a blog post? I noticed you hadn’t posted anything about us, and…” He trailed off, and Bucky blushed.

“Not exactly. I haven’t posted about you guys because, as it turned out, I struggled to be objective.” Steve flushed, and Bucky kissed him again, just because he could.

“Anyway,” he continued, “I was already thinking a lot about life and what I do and then it occurred to me that I could maybe write a book? I don’t know what it’ll be about yet but I think it’ll be a nice change.” Steve raised his eyebrows and smiled.

“That sounds great! Is it a parenting book, or fiction?” Bucky shrugged.

“Fiction. I’m still working out a story, but I was thinking I’d like to write a kids’ storybook, something parents could read with their kids, that they could bond over, you know?” Steve’s face lit up, and he sat upright.

“You have to let me illustrate it,” he stated, point blank, and Bucky laughed.

“Your interest is noted, but it’s a long way from that still. I’ll be sure to keep you in mind when the demands from publishers start to roll in.” He rolled his eyes to indicate he was kidding, and Steve laughed, laying back against him. Bucky wrapped his arms around him, and they both went back to watching the movie. Bucky had no idea what was happening on the screen, but he was okay with that.

They only lasted a few minutes before Steve leaned up from where his head was pillowed on Bucky’s arm and kissed him again, and this time they didn’t break away so quickly. By the time the credits rolled, they were almost horizontal, gasping into each other’s mouths as they kissed desperately.

“Jesus, Bucky,” Steve sighed, sitting up and leaning back onto the couch, hair dishevelled from Bucky’s hands running through it. Bucky smiled at him and followed suit, sitting up and smiling goofily.

“That was nice,” he said, voice slightly hoarse, and Steve rolled his eyes and shifted slightly. 

“Nice, he says. Nice.” Bucky laughed at his tone and pressed a kiss to his face, just at the line where his beard met his cheek.

“Very nice,” he amended. Steve snorted, and glanced at the time.

“It’s definitely late now.” Bucky nodded and frowned.

“I should probably go. Alpine will think I’m abandoning her for a second night in a week,” he sighed. 

“Ugh, that damn cat,” Steve huffed, petulantly, and Bucky laughed.

“Hey, you don’t hear me badmouthing _your_ kids, do you?” he asked, and Steve raised an eyebrow at him.

“Firstly, she’s a cat, not a child. Secondly, you love my kids.” Bucky smiled at Steve and kissed him on the nose.

“I really do,” he hummed. “And you’ll love Alpine. And Becca, when I introduce you.” Steve laughed a little but kissed Bucky’s temple. If he thought it was strange that Bucky was already talking about introducing Steve to his family, he didn't show it. In fact, he seemed happy at the prospect.

“I’m sure I will.” Bucky stood then and walked to the door for the second time that day; this time though, Steve kissed him on the stoop and when Bucky got into his car, his heart was beating through his chest as he replayed the evening in his mind the whole way home.

When he got home, he checked his phone to find a single text from Steve, consisting of nothing but a blue heart.

Bucky sent back a response, the face with hearts for eyes, and fell asleep with a smile on his face.

The next morning, he woke up shortly after ten, feeling well rested and inspired, though for all his talk about a book the previous night, it was a blog post which had finally sprung to mind while he slept.

He jotted down a few points as he drank his coffee so he wouldn’t forget, then spent the rest of the morning writing it down. When he finished, he attached the document to an email and sent it to Steve. On a whim, he sent it to Becca as well. He had taken parts from the original draft from when she had been staying over, and as much as he knew she would tease him, he also knew she would like to know, and this was as good a way as any to fill her in.

It was a rough draft, but for once he wasn’t worried about keeping it impersonal and academic. For once, it was just him.

By the time he closed down his laptop, it was well after noon, and he went to get dressed. Normally, on the day after a job, he wanted nothing more than to laze at home, wearing nothing more formal than a pair of sweatpants, but today he felt energised.

He headed out, deciding to walk the short distance to Thor and Jane’s place. He met Thor and Freya just as he turned onto their street, and they stopped to greet him, saying they were headed to the park and invited him along.

As they walked, Bucky noticed Thor watching him carefully.

“How are you feeling today?” he asked after Bucky called him on it.

“I’m good.” Bucky wasn’t sure if he had stopped smiling since he had left the previous night. Thor looked surprised.

“Really? I am happy to hear that, but I had expected you to be more… melancholic, after finishing work with your Steven. I know he seemed unhappy when I saw him at the school yesterday.” Bucky looked down at his feet and his smile grew.

“Yeah, well… I would have been, but then I was leaving, and, well… he kissed me.” Thor’s face lit up and he clapped Bucky on the back.

“I am happy for you! I did suspect your feelings were mutual, though I did not want to overstep. He is a good man.” Bucky nodded.

“The best, I think,” he responded. Freya, who had been skipping along between them, looked up at Bucky.

“Does this mean that Teddy has two mommies and two daddies now? That’s no fair, I only have one of each!” Bucky coughed, not knowing how to respond to that. He had almost forgotten she was there, as she had been quieter than usual. Thankfully, she didn’t wait for a response, because they had just reached the entrance to the park, and she set off running towards the swingset.

Bucky blinked after her, then turned to Thor, who was chuckling softly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain it to her properly.” Bucky nodded, but a thought had occurred to him.

“The kids know, they saw when he kissed me.” Thor was silent, listening. “They were already upset about me leaving, I almost lost it when I was saying goodbye, had to take a minute in the bathroom before I went back down to him after I tucked them in. I love those kids, Thor, and I don’t know what it’ll do to them if whatever this is doesn’t work out.” Bucky was frowning properly now, and Thor turned to face him.

“I know you, Bucky. I know you will prioritise the children and their wellbeing. That is all you can ever do, and Steven is lucky to have found someone who will do so. Whatever happens, will happen.”

Bucky nodded at that, though the worry niggled until they found a bench to sit down on and he sat, watching Freya play with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped tightly. He spotted a familiar figure playing with Freya, and he looked up, before—

“Fancy seeing you here,” a voice came from behind him, and he turned to see Steve’s friends — Sam and Natasha, he recalled from the last time he had met them, in this same park — standing next to the bench. Bucky smiled at them, though he felt a flush rising in his cheeks.

“Hi!” he finally managed to say, before turning to introduce Thor. Sam turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

“So I hear that you and my boy are—” Whatever he had been about to say, was cut off because at that moment another voice interrupted them.

“That’s where you went! I swear I turn around for five minutes to change Rosie and you vanish on me— Bucky!” Steve had arrived, Rosie on his hip, looking slightly put out by his friends abandoning him before he spotted who they were talking to. A flush spread on his cheeks, shy smile on his lips.

“Buggy!” Rosie chirped, reaching out to him, and he stood, gesturing for Steve to pass her over. Their hands brushed in the exchange, and Bucky felt his blush deepen when Steve let his hand remain where it was, resting on his elbow. Bucky shifted Rosie to his other side, and Steve leaned in, pressing a tentative kiss to his cheek. His heart skipped a beat, and the soppy smile on his face turned into a laugh when Rosie grabbed his face in her grubby little fingers and pressed a matching slobbery kiss to his other cheek.

“Hey Stevie.” He grinned. “Hi Rosie Posie.” He tickled her and she squirmed in his arms. A cough pulled him out of the moment, and he suddenly remembered the three other people there. Sam and Natasha exchanged a look, and Natasha coughed something which sounded suspiciously like the word “gross.” 

Thor just raised an eyebrow, saying I told you so without needing to actually say anything.

“What do you say we let the kids play, then we can bring them out for lunch together?” Steve suggested to the group at large, and Bucky nodded.

“Sounds great.” He grinned, leaning into Steve’s space a little more, before moving to sit back down, leaving space for Steve to sit next to him.

The group extended beyond the bench — Sam and Natasha sitting on their jackets on the grass next to them. The conversation was easy, and Bucky was relieved that it hadn’t become awkward, even though he hardly knew Steve’s friends. The kids came back hungry after about an hour, and they packed up to go. 

To Bucky’s surprise, Thor and Natasha exchanged a look, and before he knew what was happening, they had brought the kids away, leaving him and Steve alone.

“I guess it’s just the two of us?” Steve asked, and Bucky nodded.

“It’ll be weird to eat with you without one of us winding up covered in Rosie’s food, but I’m willing to give it a try if you are?” Steve reached out and took his hand, leading him towards a little café that Bucky knew had excellent coffee.

The following week, the day after Charlie’s dance recital, which Bucky had been delighted to attend, Steve finally hired the babysitter that Bucky had been urging him to consider for months. They ate together alone again, this time in Bucky’s apartment. 

Bucky was stressed, not having cooked for a date in years. He had decided to try a creamy mushroom and chicken dish with a side of rice, and it had looked simple enough, but he still somehow wound up with flour in his hair and sauce splattered on his shirt just as Steve texted to say he had arrived. He buzzed him up, darted into his room to change shirts, and made it back out just as Steve knocked on his apartment door.

“Hey,” Steve grinned and reached out to brush the flour away.

“Hi,” Bucky responded, leaning in for a kiss and leading Steve to his dining table. “Please excuse the mess, I forgot that you’re supposed to tidy as you go while cooking.” Steve laughed and shook his head.

“You’ve seen my kitchen on a weeknight, right?” Bucky snorted at that and shrugged before dishing up the meal. It wasn’t perfect; the chicken was a little dry and he probably should have added more salt, but Steve closed his eyes with a sigh after trying the first bite and complimented it so enthusiastically that Bucky blushed.

Steve kept checking his phone while they ate, and Bucky reached over to take his hand.

“Stevie? They’ll be fine. I promise.” Steve smiled up at him bashfully, clearly embarrassed at having been caught out.

“I know. It’s just tough.”

Bucky knew what he meant, so he tried to take Steve’s mind off of it, telling him about the first time Becca had stayed over with friends after he had taken her in, and how he had stared at his phone until five am, not wanting to miss her should she call and ask to be picked up.

He told Steve how he had gotten home from dropping her off at college the previous year and cried in her empty bedroom for an hour before curling up and watching one of her favourite movies. Steve seemed to enjoy the stories, but he was clearly still anxious when they finished eating and Bucky started washing the dishes. 

Steve insisted on drying, so they stood side-by-side at the sink, working in silence until Alpine showed her face for the first time that evening, jumping onto the countertop and pawing at Steve suspiciously.

“This is Alpine, my other kid,” Bucky introduced them, and Steve smiled, reaching a hand out for her to inspect. She seemed to accept him, because she proceeded to ignore him in favour of batting at the dish towel in his hand.

“That’s good, I promise. If she didn’t like you, she’d have run away.” Steve laughed and went back to drying the dishes.

Afterwards, Steve glanced at his phone again, and Bucky reached out to him.

“If you want to go back, you can.” Steve closed his eyes for a moment, before sighing.

“I don’t want to leave, you had a whole evening planned,” he protested, but Bucky stopped him with a kiss.

“How attached are you to your sofa legs?” he asked, and Steve frowned in confusion. “My evening plans were to spend time with you. I don’t care where that is. I’d just have to bring Alpine along.” Steve grinned and pulled him into a kiss again.

“Charlie won’t let you ever bring her home again, just so you know.” 

Bucky honestly didn’t think he would mind.

  
[ **Listen to Chapter Twenty here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-chapter-20)


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is... The epilogue. Thanks to everyone who has followed along with me and commented on each chapter, as well as those who may have waited till it was finished. It's been such a joy and we appreciate every one of you.

~*~*~

~Six months later~

~*~*~

“Mr. Rogers, hello. Come on in.”

Steve followed Teddy’s teacher into the classroom, greeting him nervously. He had already seen Charlie’s teacher, receiving very encouraging feedback which made his heart glow with pride. Sure, she struggled with patience occasionally, when kids read aloud slowly, or if the person picked to solve a problem wasn’t able to do it as easily as she was, but they could work on that.

Steve sat in the proffered chair and waited for the teacher, who introduced himself as Mr. Jones, to begin. He wasn’t nervous as such, though a year ago the thought of these meetings alone would have sent him spiralling into self-doubt, and the slightest area for improvement would have been cause for panic. He was proud of himself now, as the teacher detailed his experience of having Teddy in the classroom.

“He doesn’t seem to have much of an interest in academics, and he can be easily distracted, I’ve noticed. He’s a great kid though. He really loves storytime and whenever I get the kids up on their feet for an activity, he’s the first to volunteer.” Steve smiled.

“Yeah, that’s Teddy alright.” He turned serious for a moment. “Is he struggling academically, though? Is there anything we can do?” Mr. Jones shrugged.

“I wouldn’t say he’s _struggling,_ necessarily. He isn’t top of the class, but I’m not concerned about his work. The main issue is that he tends to rush through to get onto the next thing, so he’s not super careful and makes easy mistakes on things I know that he knows.” Steve nodded along. “I was thinking we could introduce a timer system, which you could continue at home while he does his homework, just to reinforce it.”

Steve nodded again and said he was interested in the idea. Mr. Jones smiled and reached under his desk to pull out an egg timer.

“I’ll make notes on his homework each night with the estimated time for each task, and what we would do is tell him he should give each task the entire time it takes to get through the timer. Make it clear it’s okay if he takes a little longer, but from what I’ve observed that isn’t likely to be much of an issue. Hopefully it will help him start taking more time with the work, being more careful. Does that sound alright?” Steve nodded, relieved to see that there was a plan they could put in place.

“Sounds great, we can incorporate that into the routine we have going at home and I’m sure he’ll get the hang of it.” Mr. Jones smiled back and agreed, then they set up a meeting to revisit the system in a month to check in before he asked Steve if there was anything else in particular he wanted to discuss, and Steve thought about it.

“I know last year Teddy had some pretty bad separation anxiety, he never wanted to go into school in the morning and Mrs Robbins — his kindergarten teacher — said she couldn’t get him to do much at all in the first hour. How is he doing in that regard? I know he goes in easier now but…” Mr. Jones nodded and shuffled through some notes, double checking something.

“The first couple of weeks he was a little melancholy in the mornings, didn’t have the energy he had later in the day, but he does seem to be adjusting well. It’s still early in the year, and most kids starting first grade have some trouble starting out, but he seems like a very well adjusted child, to me.” Steve breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, really. I’m so glad he’s doing alright, it’s been a rough couple of years for us, but I feel like we’re coming out on the other side of it now,” he smiled and Mr. Jones nodded.

“He’s a great kid, honestly. The other day, when he stayed in after school club, there was an older child whose mother got delayed collecting her. She was worried and upset, and I let her sit in here because the street is visible out the window and she’d be able to see the car coming. Teddy saw her crying and brought his lego blocks over to her. He talked for a solid five minutes about how it’s okay to be sad, but her mom loves her and she’ll be here as soon as she can. That just because she’s not there right now doesn’t mean she won’t be later, and no matter what she’s loved and safe here. He stayed there with her till her mom collected her and then went back to his own friends.” Steve listened to the story, feeling his eyes well with tears. 

“He said all that?” he choked out, and Mr. Jones nodded. 

“He did. You’ve got nothing to worry about with that kid, Mr. Rogers.” Steve wiped his eyes and smiled at the teacher.

“Thank you, seriously. And please, call me Steve.” They wrapped up the meeting by looking more in depth at some of Teddy’s work and the planned themes for the next couple of months, and then Steve was able to leave. He shook Mr. Jones’ hand vigorously as he left and drove home happily. 

He opened the front door and saw Teddy and Charlie standing nervously in the living room, waiting for him. He stood, face neutral, and looked between them for half a second, but then burst into a grin and pulled them both into a hug.

“I’m so proud of you both. What do you want for dinner? We’re celebrating!” Teddy and Charlie began debating the relative merits of various fast food chains just as Bucky came into the room from the kitchen. Steve pulled him into a hug too, kissing him quickly for good measure.

“I take it the conference went well?” Bucky asked, and Steve nodded.

“They’re doing great, I’m so proud of them, and I only cried a little bit.” Bucky raised an eyebrow, though his face was soft. “Wait till I tell you what Teddy did, you’ll tear up too.” Bucky cupped his face gently and kissed him.

“I can’t wait. I love you, and I’m proud of you. Sorry I couldn’t go.” Steve’s heart swelled at the words. It wasn’t the first time they had said it; that had been a month after they had gotten together, when the kids had just started their summer vacation and Steve was about to get on a plane to bring them to visit Peggy in London. He was only planning to stay for a week, leaving the kids with her for the summer, but Bucky had driven them to the airport and kissed him before they went through security. Steve had seen the expression in his eyes and anticipated the words before they came, responding in kind without hesitation. 

Steve still felt the same thrill in his chest every time he heard them, though. 

“I love you too, Buck. You were right though, I needed to do that myself at least once.” 

“We decided, daddy!” Steve’s attention was drawn back to the kids, who had decided after a long and intense debate that they wanted McDonalds as their treat. Steve and Bucky exchanged a knowing look. It was always going to be McDonalds. 

Bucky scooped Alpine up from where she was wrapping herself around his ankles.

“I’ll meet you guys there, alright? I’m gonna bring this lady home and check in with Becca.” Steve nodded and helped get Alpine into her carrier before kissing Bucky goodbye. Rosie protested, since she had bonded with the cat almost immediately and always got upset when Bucky had to bring her home. There was now a litter box permanently based in the downstairs bathroom, and Steve had bought a scratching post for her a while back which was taller than Rosie.

Steve calmed Rosie, assuring her that “Appine” would be back soon, and went into his office, leaving the door open so he could hear the kids. He checked in on the sketches he had worked up for Bucky’s book. He had decided on a picture book about a kid and her brother on a fantasy adventure together. Bucky had told him it started out as a story about his relationship with Becca, though most of the details got warped and changed as the draft developed until it bore only a passing resemblance. The heart of it was there, though, and Steve had cried after Bucky had let him read the first draft.

Steve had begged Bucky to let him send it to Tony, only to find out Bucky had already done so himself.

“I know how important having connections can be, sweetheart, I sent him the pitch months ago, as soon as I had it planned out.”

As it turned out, Tony had immediately offered Bucky a generous deal, with the only condition being that he allowed Steve to illustrate it.

Both Steve and Bucky had been more than happy to accept, and the storybook had flourished and evolved under their joint input; Bucky’s words and Steve’s drawings working together flawlessly. Steve looked over the sketches he had left out for Bucky while he was at the conference, seeing Bucky’s neat handwriting on sticky notes with his suggestions and questions. It was too much to get through just yet, so Steve left them where they were and decided to get the kids ready for dinner.

He was silently grateful they had chosen somewhere simple, so he wouldn’t have to make them change into something nicer than the jeans they were currently wearing. Still, getting three young kids ready for an outing was never a quick task. Steve got them into the car eventually, texting Bucky that they were on their way before sitting into the driver’s seat and heading out.

Later, after the kids had watched a movie and gone to bed, after Steve had updated Peggy on the outcome of the conference, Steve sat with Bucky on the sofa, chinese food spread out in front of them because neither of them felt anywhere close to full after a McDonalds. Steve told Bucky about what the teacher had said and just as he had expected, Bucky had gotten a little misty-eyed.

“That’s the cutest shit I’ve ever heard. What a great kid. You did good with that one. You’re _doing_ good with them all.” Steve put down his fork and reached out to stroke Bucky’s calf where it rested on the sofa.

“Couldn’t have done it without you, Buck. The kids are lucky to have a — to have someone like you there for them.” Steve flushed, realising he wasn’t sure what to call Bucky. In his mind, he had begun to think of Bucky as their other dad and he knew the kids thought of him the same way, but they had never discussed it. Bucky’s expression changed, became tinged with a longing that Steve now recognised from all those months ago — before they had gotten their shit together and taken the leap together, and Steve knew he was thinking the same.

He smiled, not speaking it aloud but knowing he was understood.

~*~*~

~+2 months later~

~*~*~

Bucky got up early and tried to untangle himself from the cage made of a combination of Steve’s arms and Alpine’s body draped over him. He tiptoed down the stairs and into the living room, avoiding the pile of toys which had been left in the hallway. He made a mental note to make sure those got put away before guests started to arrive, but he didn’t hold out hope it’d stay tidy for long.

He made coffee and went to the fridge while it brewed, pulling out the cake which was the reason he was so tired today. He had stayed up late to bake it the previous night, and despite the fact that one side was taller than the other and there was a distinctive charred look on the edge, he was proud of it. He took out the ingredients for the frosting and then poured his coffee before getting to work.

He knew it was probably beyond his skills, but damn it Teddy had said he wanted a Spongebob cake, so he was going to get a spongebob cake. Bucky had found the recipe for a cake shaped like Spongebob’s house, and he had the blog page open on his phone. The blogger insisted that it was so simple, even a child could do it, and Bucky hoped they were right. 

An hour later, with fondant in his hair and food dye staining his hands, after multiple failed attempts and frantically googling what the hell a pineapple even looked like in a moment of sleepy panic, he was done. He had even found himself cursing all bloggers for the weird instructions in the recipe, before remembering that he was, in fact, a blogger himself. He sat back to admire his work, deciding he was proud of it. He was reminded of his first day here, when Steve had watched Spongebob with the kids while Bucky stood to the side — an outsider in their home.

By the time anyone else woke up, the cake was back in the fridge and there was another pot of coffee brewing. Steve was the first one down, accepting the mug Bucky offered him but putting it aside for a moment, pulling Bucky into a kiss instead.

“Morning, honey. Not like you to be up so early when you aren’t working,” Steve commented, and Bucky tipped his head towards the fridge with a secretive wink. 

“Buck, I told you there’d be plenty of time while I bring the kids with me to pick up Peggy and Angie from the airport.” 

“I wanted to be sure! Besides, I definitely needed the extra time, because this was way more difficult than it looked.” Steve had picked up the coffee again and gone to check the fridge, and he just hummed at Bucky’s explanation before turning back with a grin after having seen the cake. 

“This is fantastic, Buck. He’s gonna love it.” It wasn’t perfect, but Bucky smiled proudly anyway. 

“I’m not Paul Hollywood, but you definitely deserve a handshake for this.”

“Just a handshake?” Bucky raised an eyebrow subtly, and was rewarded with a familiar wicked grin from Steve. “I’d take a Rogers kiss over a Hollywood handshake any day.” Steve kissed him again and he found himself giggling when he saw he had gotten powdered sugar on Steve’s face.

He inhaled the rest of his coffee just as Charlie came downstairs and wished them both a good morning before pouring herself a bowl of cereal and sitting down to eat sleepily. Rosie toddled in after her, curls in a mess on her head and one side of her face pink from sleep.

“Rosie! Did you come down the stairs all by yourself?” Bucky reached down and picked her up and she snuggled into him, nodding. Steve was smiling at them fondly, a look on his face which never failed to make Bucky blush almost a year after they’d first met.

Bucky checked the time and nodded to Steve, who grinned back. 

“Ready, Charlie?” Steve asked, and she nodded. Steve grabbed the shiny parcel from where he had it hidden in the cleaning cupboard, and they made their way quietly up to Teddy’s room. All four of them poured in and Teddy sat up, clearly already awake but waiting for them with a huge smile on his face.

Steve handed over the gift with a shout of “Happy birthday!” and Teddy ripped into the parcel while the rest of them sang to him. He pulled out the gift — a remote-controlled dinosaur — with a shriek of delight and hugged them both in turn before trying to wrestle it out of the packaging and get it working. Steve went down to make a start on breakfast while Bucky volunteered to help figure out the toy.

It was more difficult to set up than he had anticipated, even when he had actually taken the time to look up the instruction manual in advance, but they got it figured it out between the two of them. By the time they got downstairs, their breakfast of pancakes and bacon was already on the table and Teddy’s eyes bugged at the large stack in front of him.

“Extra pancakes for the birthday boy! Don’t expect this many every day,” Steve warned, and Bucky laughed.

The rest of the morning consisted of Steve and Bucky pretending to run scared from the surprisingly realistic movements of the bright red dinosaur which Teddy made chase them over and over again, never growing tired and only reluctantly letting his sisters have a turn when he realised that meant he could be the one chased by the dinosaur. Alpine had to be shut in a separate room, as she kept alternately climbing up their legs to get away and trying to attack the dinosaur when she built up some courage before running away again.

At midday, Steve clapped his hands and made everyone stop playing to get dressed, and then negotiations began on who would travel in what car. Steve was going to collect Peggy and Angie while Bucky went for Becca, so they would have to split the kids between the two cars. Charlie jumped into Steve’s car as soon as they explained, wanting to see Peggy as soon as she could. Teddy wanted to go with him too, but a mention of Becca having a gift for him convinced him to get in Bucky’s car. Steve started buckling Rosie into her seat in his own car when she shouted out.

“No! Wanna go with Papa!” Bucky jumped halfway through making sure Teddy’s belt was properly buckled around his booster seat and almost hit his head on the door in his haste to turn around.

He froze when he saw Steve holding Rosie, her arms outstretched towards Bucky. Steve was smiling, and Bucky couldn’t believe his ears.

“Did she just…?” Steve nodded and put her down to let her run over and pulled her car seat out to install it in Bucky’s backseat. Bucky picked her up when she reached him and tried to process what had just happened.

“Ev’ything ok, Papa? Buggy?”

“I’m great, sweetheart,” Bucky told her, and then looked up at Steve. “Where did she hear that?” Steve shrugged but he was giving Bucky that small smile which told him he knew more than he was letting on. Bucky raised a brow and Steve flushed.

“I may have used it once or twice, referring to you. She picked it up pretty quickly.” Bucky felt his eyes fill with tears but blinked them away so he could get Rosie strapped into the seat Steve had managed to install in a matter of seconds. 

“Is that okay? I know we hadn’t exactly discussed it, but—” Bucky stopped Steve’s explanation with a touch to his wrist once Rosie was secure.

“Steve, are you kidding? This is the happiest I’ve felt in a long time. Thank you.” Steve smiled bashfully and Bucky kissed him before pushing him towards his own car with a laugh. “Now you better go or Peggy will be left wondering if she flew into the wrong airport.” Steve leaned in for another kiss but then backed away to get in his car with Charlie while Bucky got in with Teddy and Rosie.

When he got to the station where Becca’s train was coming in, he got the kids out of their seats and held them carefully while they waited. 

“There she is!” Teddy shouted as soon as Becca turned the corner and when she was a few paces away, Bucky let go of his hand so he could run to her.

“Woah! You’ve gotten so big since I saw you last time I visited!” Becca held out a hand to measure his height against her and Teddy grinned up at her.

“I’m six now!” he announced proudly, pointing to the pin he had gotten in the birthday card from Steve and Bucky as proof.

“Wow! Six is so grown up!” Becca took his hand as they walked back to the car. Rosie held up three fingers and announced she was _that many_ , not wanting to be left out, and Becca ruffled her curls fondly. 

Teddy spent the whole drive back playing with the birthday present Becca had gotten for him — a large superhero playset which Bucky mentally tried to figure out where they could fit it in the house. They made it back before Steve, so Bucky made sure everything was in order for Peggy and Angie before sitting with Becca in the kitchen.

“Damn, Bucky. You literally haven’t stopped smiling since I got here. You’d think meeting the ex-wife for the first time would be a bit more nerve wracking than that.” Bucky snorted, but his smile didn’t falter.

“I’ve talked to Peggy before, she’s great. I'm not nervous. But that’s not why I’m smiling. Earlier, Rosie called me—”

“Papa, can I have a snack?” Rosie had toddled over to them while they talked and Becca looked from her to Bucky, as his smile widened even more. 

“Mom and dad will be home soon, okay chicken? We’ll have cake and candy and whatever you like after lunch, alright?” She pouted but went back to playing, and Bucky looked back at Becca.

“Well, that.” Becca stood and walked around the table to hug him.

“I’m so happy for you, Bucky bear. You deserve this.”

The door opened just then and Bucky heard the delighted squeals from Rosie and Teddy as they greeted Peggy. Bucky went out to the crowd gathered in the hallway to help get them settled and exchanged a smile with Angie. He liked her a lot. They hadn’t really talked much before, but they had bonded over their hotheaded, stubborn partners, and Bucky felt like he could be good friends with her if he got a chance. He hoped he’d get the chance.

Teddy insisted on getting his presents from them before they ate, and then showing them the new toys he had already opened, so by the time they had eaten a quick lunch and Bucky had the candles lit on the cake, most of the other guests had arrived. There weren’t enough seats around the table for all of them, especially when Sam, Natasha and Tony arrived, followed not long after by Thor, Jane and Freya. They sat around the living room, half on chairs, half on the floor, Rosie, Teddy and Freya running around and playing with the dozens of balloons Tony had provided.

It was loud and chaotic, and Bucky was pressed into Steve’s side on the sofa, Becca on his other side. He caught Angie’s eye where she sat in an armchair on Peggy’s lap and she made a face at him before turning to whisper something to Peggy. They both stood together and left the room, indicating for Bucky and Steve to follow them.

“We have some news,” Peggy began, once they were in the relative quiet of the kitchen. Steve looked between them curiously and Bucky thought he had an inkling of what she was about to say.

“We’re moving back!” Angie interrupted, and Steve looked gobsmacked.

“You’re— really? But how? What about your job, Peg? And Angie, I thought you had that long running play?” 

“The show is transferring to Broadway, and… Well, I’ll let Peg tell you.” Peggy smiled.

“A job opened up in the New York base. I didn’t want to jinx it so I didn’t say anything till it was certain, which it is now, as of this morning. We’re moving back here. For good.” Steve burst into a grin and pulled both of them into a hug. 

“That’s fantastic news! When do you move?” Peggy blushed.

“We sort of… already have? I mean, we’ve packed up our things because we were planning to move in together anyway, and we have looked at apartments nearby with space for the kids and an easy commute, so we’re going to have everything shipped over as soon as that’s finalised.”

Steve was visibly overwhelmed, so Bucky put an arm around him for support and rubbed his back gently. Peggy seemed to understand, because she touched his arm and retreated back into the living room, followed closely by Angie.

Peggy paused on the way out and turned back to him.

“I know what you’re thinking Steve. It’ll be a big change, but we’ll figure it out.” Steve nodded silently as she left.

“You alright?” Bucky asked, and Steve just shrugged.

“It’s… a lot to take in, honestly. I think I just need to process.”

“That’s fair. I know it’s sudden, but this is a good thing, right? Peggy can be there for the kids, they’ll have both of their parents there for them.”

“Four.”

“What?”

“Four parents.” Bucky smiled.

“Right. All four of us. It’s a good thing, isn’t it? Things will change, but you’re good at that now.” That sparked a laugh from Steve.

“All thanks to you.” Bucky shrugged and waved him off with exaggerated modesty, making Steve scoff.

“You’re right though. This is good. We’ll ease the kids into it, since Peggy and Angie were planning to stay for a few weeks anyway, let them get used to having them around before making the announcement.” Bucky nodded and they sat together for a moment before Teddy burst in and made them join him in a game of escape the dinosaur along with everyone else.

Later in the evening, once the kids had just about tired themselves out, the guests started to leave until it was just the eight of them again — still more people than the house was used to holding, but it felt practically empty, especially with Rosie dozing off in her mother’s arms and Teddy playing lazily with his new toys and holding back yawns while Charlie read. Becca had cornered Angie to talk about some convoluted theatre topic full of jargon Bucky didn’t understand, and he and Steve were cuddled together on the sofa

Bucky looked around at Steve’s family — his family now, too — and smiled.

“I don’t wanna go home, Stevie,” he mumbled as he stifled a yawn, the result of a long day. Steve looked down at him, then glanced around the room.

“Then don’t. Stay. I know you need to drop off Becca once she’s ready to go, but leave Alpine here, come back after.” Bucky smiled and agreed.

“Sounds like a plan.” They were quiet for a moment, and then Steve spoke again, softer this time.

“Buck?”

“Hm?” 

“You know how you said I’m good at change now?” Bucky nodded and looked up at Steve through his lashes.

“Well, might as well make one more change. I think you should move in with us. You’re hardly ever in your place anymore.” Bucky looked at him, searching his face for any hesitation and finding none. He looked back out at the room and nodded.

“Yeah. That sounds perfect.” Bucky was still smiling when he dropped Becca home to his — maybe her apartment now, if she wanted it. After the kids were in bed, he let Peggy borrow his car to drive to their hotel and hugged both her and Angie goodbye at the door before following Steve up to bed.

“Today was good,” Steve murmured sleepily as they lay together. Bucky managed to reply sleepily as he dozed off wrapped in Steve’s arms.

“Yeah, it was. Can’t wait for the rest.”

Parenting was tough, but he knew they’d get through it together.

  
[ **Listen to the Epilogue here.** ](https://www.spreaker.com/user/13398147/supermanny-epilogue)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it. It's not the end, just the beginning of the next part of their lives together. I have ideas for little snippets over the years which I might write at some point, who knows?

**Author's Note:**

> This story is going to be updating daily from today until Nov 21st!


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